With the help of Apple's sweet new iLife '08, I finally got some pictures posted online of the grand opening of our new office. We had a steady stream of people stop by, and they all seemed to enjoy the snow cones and cotton candy we had for them. You can view the photos from the day here. And if you're wondering where you can get that snazzy crowd-pleasing wall gumball machine, look no further. …
Archives for August 2007
Calling Your Shot
Christina over at Writer Mama challenged me the other day to reveal "Eight Random Things About Me." Since I did a similar post a few months ago after Phil's request, I decided to take a different slant on this. I've tweaked it to be "Eight Random Things About Me In Eight Years." Last month I talked about the importance of life lists and the power in writing down your goals. In that vain, I have decided to reveal the list I will write eight years from today, Aug. 16, 2015. I will be 37 years young. Essentially, I'm "calling my shot." Here goes... 1. I love being a mom! Our kids bring me …
Do You Have That Spark?
This summer I have been inspired by a bunch of strangers who have been consistently working their butts off while following their hearts. Who are these persistent dreamers? The contestants from the reality show, "On the Lot." This is the first refreshing reality show I've seen. I know, usually refreshing and reality do not simultaneously describe a reality show, but this one has been different. Reailty shows usually have a lot of drama, but the drama in this show is real. It's the natural drama that comes when passionate people are working hard towards the accomplishment of their …
Build Yourself a Cardboard Castle
It figures that I'd find this project after I've already disposed of the gazillion boxes we used to help us move. On the other hand, none of them were refrigerator boxes, and you need eight of them for this plan (don't worry though, they give you tips on how to get free cardboard boxes). The plan comes from Mr. McGroovy's (hat tip to Lifehacker) and is quite detailed with nice, easy to understand diagrams (me like pictures). They also sell box rivets for a new level of cardboard construction and offer ideas on how to easily paint your castle in a realistic manner. Too cool. …
Death of the Grown-Up
Will the death of the grown-up bring about our downfall? Could be. You may be asking, "How can you write this, Mr. Author of Escape Adulthood: 8 Secrets from Childhood for the Stressed-Out Grown-Up?" Easy. The book, The Death of the Grown-up: How America's Arrested Development Is Bringing Down Western Civilization by Diana West, is supported by many well-known conservatives. I suspect that it might veer off to an extreme tangent, but I agree with many of its premises. Parents spend way too much time trying to be their kids friends rather than their parents. We are way too politically …
EA #22: Stress Relief for Small Biz Owners
In this episode, brought to you from studio 315 in Madison, Wisconsin, we We interview Lisa Rickwood, author of “Escape The Pace: 100 Fun and Easy Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy Your Life.” She’ll share some ideas on how busy small business owners can stress less, while avoiding overwork and burnout. We also talk about e-mail stress, the little known origins of Play-Doh, and share a great solution for office anger management. Just click "Play" to listen to the show... …
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You’ve Got Mail Cyber Challenge
There is a cyber stress epidemic that is greatly contributing to Adultitis. Checking email. How many times do you check your email in one day? In one hour? Be honest! Are you excessive? Who isn't, right?! You just never know who might have some interesting or good news for you. You better check. It's like when you were little and always wanted to be the one to go get the mail from the mailbox. Maybe three out of 365 days you'd actually receive mail, but it was still fun to check. That childlike optimism and curiousity can actually get you into trouble in the world of email. …
Stable Tables
Our open house was a big hit last Saturday. It was nice to have a firm deadline to get the new office ready, and it was nice to see family and friends that I hadn't seen in way too long. (The 14 straight hours of sleep Sunday night was also quite nice.) It's amazing how quickly snow cones and cotton candy can help people escape adulthood. And it's uncanny how consistent children are in their desire to combine all possible snow cone flavors. I think my favorite part of the whole space are the tables in the conference room (we gotta come up with a better, less corporatey name for that …
Tackling Fear with Faith
This is the time of year when all of the Fantasy Football widows start to roll their eyes. Already? Football talk already? (Yes, Jason's draft is next week.) As much as I tease Jason about his love for football, there are lessons to be learned by the sport that creates the perfect background noise for the best Sunday afternoon naps in the world. You know those tackling drills the players do in practice? This is my new strategy for fear. It's going down! I'm so sick of it. It's such a time and energy stealer. As I mentioned last week, fear (F.E.A.R.) is False Evidence Appearing …
Get Up Faster
It's been twelve days since the first cardboard box made its way through the door of our new office. The vast majority of the boxes are gone, but we still have no Internet. Or phones. Urgghh. I'll spare you the grisly play-by-play of the false promises, unmet expectations, and flat out ineptitude, but suffice it to say, I have not been this frustrated, angry, or exhausted in a long, long time. Maybe we'll have everything up and running in the next day or two. Maybe. The details to the story really don't matter, because it's a story you've no doubt lived, perhaps many times. Let me put …