I think it’s funny that even as our cars get more high tech, outfitted with GPS systems, heated seats, and hands-free calling, they still come equipped with glove compartments. Glove compartments! Although the glove compartment in my car is jammed with a great many things -- manuals, napkins, straws, ketchup packets, pens that don't work, and the like -- gloves are not among them. I got thinking about glove compartments when I was in Houston a few weeks ago for a speaking engagement. One of the audience members talked about a friend’s dad who always carried a few spare kites in the …
Travel
10 Tips for Traveling With Kids (and Without Adultitis)
Many people would rather be gored by an angry bull hopped up on Jolt cola than travel with small children. At times, I think the former may be a less painful option. …
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Memory Lists: The Simplest Way to Remember Your Vacation Forever
Kim and I are all about collecting experiences over stuff. The challenge with experiences is that they are fleeting. Which is why we normally try to make them tangible in some way, in order to relive them again and again. Some common methods for "tangibilizing" memories are taking photos, shooting video, scrapbooking, and journaling. These are each excellent in their own way, but they also have downsides. With photos and video, you can easily spend more time looking through a camera's viewfinder than actually enjoying the experience firsthand. And others require a lot of post-event work …
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5 Fun Things to Do at McDonald’s
So here's what I want to know. Is the guy in the white shirt another customer asking to take their picture to show people at work? Or is it the manager from McDonald's? And if the latter, is he saying, "You guys are hilariously creative! How about we treat you to four Happy Meals?" or "We have an Adultitis-ridden policy against fun and that's why I have to tell you to leave the premises immediately." Just wondering. While this is a fairly elaborate stunt, here are a few other things you can do next time you're at McDonald's: …
Blurb Instagram Books are the Boss
This past February, we spent a week in Florida. We spent most of our time at the beach and made a day trip to Disney World. We decided to shoot most of our photos with the free iPhone app called Instagram, and then compiled the best ones into an affordable hardcover book made at Blurb.com. It was easy to make, turned out pretty cool, and has become a treasured keepsake of our trip. This is not a paid endorsement by Blurb, just a resource I thought was worth sharing. Note to Blurb: If you'd like to sponsor additional trips to warm places in the winter, we'd be happy to make more …
G’Day Mate: Adventures in Expanding Your Comfort Zone
I often wonder why I care so much about what other people think. I shouldn’t, and I like to think I don’t, but I do. Not always, but more often than I should. The irony is that the worst-case scenario is always the most terrifying when it stays in our head. If we were to actually speak our fears out loud -- to shine light upon them -- we would realize how ridiculous it is that we allow them to enslave us. When Kim and I wrote The Escape Plan, we identified this unfortunate but all-too-common trait that keeps us tied down and hastens the spread of Adultitis. And so we wanted to include …
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Darth Vader Goes to Disneyland
You know a place is a legit Adultitis Hospital if even Darth Vader can have a good time there. …
An Easy Way To Add Magic To Life
My word for 2012 has been “magic.” No, I have not been learning any card tricks, but rather the goal has been to infuse more magic into the lives of people I touch. One thing that has struck me time and again is that it doesn't have to cost a lot of effort or money. Like many things, whether it’s creating more magic, making more scenes with your family, or spicing up a marriage, all you really need is the desire and a tiny bit of imagination. …
Sticky Cup Saturday
The McDonald's cup was in place. And although Lucy was completely oblivious to the shananigans we were enjoying, she certainly enjoyed our anticipation and laughter. "I haven't heard you laugh like that in a long time." That's what Jason said to me at the tail end of our Sticky Cup ride. …
5 Surefire Ways to Fight Adultitis While Flying
Looking for a surefire way to acquire a "Full-Blown" case of Adultitis? Two words: air travel The experience of flying is guaranteed to morph even the most "glass half full" type of person into a cynical scrooge - or your money back. (Ha!) Who knew a hefty case of Adultitis was free with the price of a plane ticket? And being the contagious disease that it is, it's quite tricky to escape the spread when you're quarantined in small planes and stuffy airports. …
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