I was blessed to have grown up in a household with a super fun dad. Every 4th of July I would wake up to the sound of fire crackers being set off outside my bedroom window, along with patriotic music blaring from the living room. Every April 1st he'd wake us up with a big story for us about school being canceled or a snow storm that hit overnight. My dad is one of those fun dads! I am confident Jason will be one of these dads. Afterall, it is true what they say about marrying someone like your dad. Jason proves this theory on a daily basis. We ran across another fun dad last week at a …
General
The Certainty of Uncertainty
The biggest news of the last month has not been the election, but the economy. From bad loans to bloated bailouts, the losing of jobs to politicians losing their minds...it seems as though the downturn is on everyone's mind. And causing a LOT of stress. The worst of the stress comes when we fixate over things we can't control. As the media, politicians, and pointy-headed pundits like to point out, we are living in uncertain times. But think about this: Are we ever living in certain times? Does any one of us ever know what next year will bring, much less next month or even tomorrow? Life, …
Tip of the Week: Time Traveler
This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #34: Time Traveler: Think about some of the things you liked to do as a child. Pick one and do it. The point of this challenge is to get you thinking back on your fondest childhood memories and to resurrect some of those magical moments, bringing them into your present day. This is a guaranteed way to eliminate the Adultitis in your life... at least for the moment. Unless your memory is triggered by a photograph, childhood toy, or an old friend, the busyness of life makes it very easy to forget memories from childhood. When I …
Ginormously Fun Goals
Even in this "supersize it" culture, there's something magically childlike about seeing the world's largest pumpkin. Steve Connolly turned his hobby into a passion, setting a personal goal of growing the biggest pumpkin in the world! How childlike is this?! Apparently the conditions were "just right" this year in Sharon, Massachusetts, which helped to bring his record setting pumpkin to a whopping 1,878 lbs... and its still growing about 11 lbs. per day! Yikes! The coolest thing to think about, though, is that this very same pumpkin started from a seed just five months ago. Whew... I'm …
EA #36: 6 Easy But Awesome Halloween Costume Ideas
In this episode of the Escape Adulthood Show, brought to you from studio 315 in Madison, Wisconsin, we talk about llamas (again), the hidden danger of sour candy, our latest trip to Boston, and share 6 easy but awesome Halloween costume ideas. Just click "Play" to listen to the show... …
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Tip of the Week: Hero For a Day
This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #35: Hero For a Day: Do something to make the day of a child. In almost all of Jason's speaking programs he talks about a problem that many adults have, which is that they live by rules that don't exist. One example he gives is how I accomplished Challenge # 11 during our original undertaking of The Escape Plan. I decided to eat dessert first. Why? Because there's no rule saying I can't! It was glorious! In yesterdays intergenerational program (ages 5-105) Jason asked the kids "How many kids here would like to have dessert …
Drop The Invisible Force Field
You know how some people become so frustrated by the antics of their crying baby that they resort to shaking them violently? Sometimes, when I'm speaking, I want to do that with audience members. …
Tip of the Week: Dress Up Day
This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #36: Dress Up Day: Accessorize your wardrobe today with a touch of childhood. Jason has always joked that I have never had a problem with this challenge. In fact, sometimes I go a bit too far. (Read about what I was wearing the night Jason and I first met.) Who knew, however, that expecting a baby would end up helping me accomplish this challenge everyday. As Jason mentioned in a recent post, this baby bump is quite the conversation starter. Last week we were in four states in five days, so we were exposed to a number of …
Are You Happy?
A friend sent me this photo a few weeks ago. It's not some elaborate Photoshop trick; it's a real-live upside down rainbow, er, circumzenithal arc. The photo was taken in the UK by 60-year-old renowned astronomer and writer Dr Jacqueline Mitton. You can learn more about this super rare phenomenon here. The photo, which reminds me of a smile, got me thinking about happiness. …
On Pies and Pirate Hats
My dad turned 55 last Sunday. One of the cool things about my dad is that he has always kept his childlike spirit alive and well. Anyone who has spent any time reading his entries on the Escape Plan blog know that quite well. I didn't notice it as much growing up as I do now, although moments of my mom rolling her eyes at his antics seem to go back as far as I remember. So maybe it's not that I didn't notice it back then as much as I didn't appreciate it as much as I do now. Maybe I have enough years on me now to know that not every dad is as willing to let that childlike side come out to …