Escape Adulthood

General

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Lessons I Learned When The Tables Turned

(This is an excerpt of an article written for Kim & Jason magazine by Marg Forbes, CEO of The Forbes Solution. Marg combines her accounting acumen and her emotional intelligence skills to make numbers less intimidating and more meaningful for small business owners.) My mom was 39 when I was born, and although I was a “surprise”, I’ve always felt wanted, loved and cherished. She had three other children, but I was always her baby. When I lived at home, I never went to sleep without a goodnight kiss. When I moved away, I talked to her on the phone or visited her every day. Over the …

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Be Like Abe

Kids are honest. One day when my nephew was four he was playing a board game with my mom, his grandma. In the middle of the game he stopped what he was doing abruptly and said, "Grandma, did you know you have gray hair?" She laughed and assured him that, indeed, she knew that. Increasing his intensity, he insisted, "No Grandma, REALLY gray... and you have a yellow tooth, too." Ah yes... the honesty of children. They tell it like it is. …

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Milkshake Memories

One of the most important life lessons my parents taught me growing up is that meaningful traditions and memories do not have to be a lot of work and they certainly don't have to cost a lot of money. Every Valentine's Day as a kid my mom would make strawberry milkshakes for dinner. YUM! Those cold glasses of pink goodness replaced our usual glasses of 2% milk. What a treat! Something as simple as a milkshake created a annual tradition that all of us girls (and my dad, too) looked forward to. It was such a hit, she would even make "shamrock shakes" on St. Patty's Day. These simple expressions …

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How To Let Adultitis Ruin Your Valentine’s Day

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and we've compiled five tips on how you can make sure the holiday is completely ruined by Adultitis. Just in case you were interested. Don’t waste your time making, writing or sending Valentines. In this age of e-mail and instant messaging, they are a terribly inefficient waste of time and money. And trees. When celebrating Valentine’s Day, remember that how much you spend on someone is a direct indicator to how much you love them. Likewise, the reverse is true. If someone can’t find it in their heart to splurge on an extremely expensive token …

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Tip of the Week: Just Like George

This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week), is #29: Just Like George. Ask an expert something you are curious about in his/her field. Ironically, two years ago today Jason and I celebrated his 30th birthday by going to see "Curious George" in the theaters. (Yes, today's Jason's birthday! Woo Hoo!) That mischievous little monkey can teach us a lot about being more curious. Another animal known for curiosity is the cat. Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect. - Steven Wright I have to admit, I've always been more of a dog person than a cat lover. I do …

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Grandma Goes Out To Play

Folks in the UK have reinforced my believe that a childlike spirit is something you can carry with you your entire life. Indeed, the moment you set your childlike side on the shelf is the moment Adultitis gets a stranglehold and life starts to suck sour grapes. Last week, Britain's first playground for the over-60s set opened in Manchester. Now, when Grandma takes her grandson to the park, all bets are off as to who'll have the most fun. Instead of things like slides, this playground has equipment specially designed to work the hips, legs, and torso. Besides a great way to stay in shape, …

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Happy Snow Day!

Wisconsin kids were happy again this morning. Another snow day! This is the second one in two weeks... every kid's dream come true! When I was little one of my favorite children's books was "The Day Daddy Stayed Home" by Ethel and Leonard Kessler. It's told from the child's point of view, about a snow day in which school is called off and Daddy can't get to work either. The child and Dad spend the day together playing out in the snow. They say that the anticipation of something is often better than the actual happening. Reading that book over and over was an example of great childlike …

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Stressed Backwards is Desserts

Sure, we all know emotional eating is bad. But there is something to be said about the childlike giddiness that naturally comes when your favorite dessert is in your midst. (Is it just me?) Adultitis melts away for a few delicious moments of sugary happiness. Delighting in a treat is very childlike! When's the last time you sat with a stack of Oreos and a glass of milk? Or how about picking out a treat for yourself from the local bakery? When I was little my sisters (aka the K-Mart Sisters) had organ lessons every Thursday afternoon. Since I was too young to join, my mom and I would …

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Fill up Your Bucket List

Tomorrow is the first day of February, which tends to be a hard month for folks here in the northern midwest . The Christmas lights are down, spring is still out of reach, and it's still dark and cold by 5PM everyday. Enough said. Ready for a jump start? Thanks to our dear friend Lindsey over at the Enjoy the Journey blog, Jason and I were inspired to take her recommendation and go see The Bucket List last Sunday. With the two lead roles being Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, we knew we were in for a treat. HOLY COW. I'm with Lindsey, this was one of the very best movies I've …

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The Etch-A-Sketch Inner Child

Sometimes the assumption is that all of this childlike stuff is reserved for those artsy, creative "free spirits." Not true. We all could stand to be a little bit more childlike; it's just that it looks different depending on the type of person you are. Take the Etch-A-Sketch for example. It is regarded as one of the classic American toys. My brothers and I had one growing up, but I never really got into it. Now that may come as a surprise to you, considering my artistic nature. But here's the deal: my brain is not an Etch-A-Sketch brain. It doesn't think in horizontal and vertical …

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