The Challenge: Congratulations on making it to the end. Your final test is to take tomorrow off. Spend today making any necessary adjustments. Do anything you want, but no work and no chores. Consider it a sick day or at least a “sick of it” day. (Remember, Adultitis is a serious affliction.)
Kim:
For us, challenge fell on February 11th — Jason’s 30th birthday. It was also a Saturday. We did have some fun celebrating the occasion, but figured we wouldn’t live up to the true spirit of this challenge if we did it on a weekend. So we set Tuesday as our “Sick Of It” day. It’s a day we probably shouldn’t have taken off because it’s a pretty busy week. However, it IS Valentine’s Day, and it IS our 11th anniversary of when we started officially dating.
My day started when I rolled out of bed at 10 am. One of my guilty pleasures in life is sleeping in. I made a point to turn off the ringers on the phones before we went to bed, so they would not interfere with my plans to snooze later. As I just started to wake up I turned on the TV and Jason came bouncing in (he heard the TV) and asked if I wanted to be spontaneous. So I put on my Dr. Seuss hat and off we drove to a neighboring town to get some breakfast at one of our favorite spots. We rarely go out to breakfast, so this was a fun treat. The rest of the day was filled with bumming around town at a couple stores, lunch with a friend, a walk in the long overdue mild weather, a nap, and finally dinner at one of our favorite joints, Outback Steakhouse. Yummy! It was a great day. So many times our weekends end of being injected with paying the bills, laundry, straightening up, etc. It was so nice to have a day to enjoy and relax. I wish my boss would let me do this once a week.
Jason:
Kim did a great job of covering the highlights from the day, so I thought I’d add my random two cents. Most people automatically assume that they could never take a “Sick of it Day.” I think that in most cases, that’s a big fat cop-out. What would happen if you came down with a terrible case of pneumonia this evening? Would you be forced to go to work anyway? What if you got seriously injured or — gasp! — killed on your way home from work tomorrow? Would you think to yourself, “Boy, am I sure glad I put in that full day of work today.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating a complete and utter disregard for all personal responsibility. I’m talking about ONE day.
To me, the ones who can’t get themselves to take a “Sick of it Day” — I’m talking maybe one or three a year — are only proving that they’re not really in control of their life. They let life dictate the terms while they act passively, missing the best of what life has to offer. They’re the ones who wake up one day wondering why life didn’t treat them better, why it didn’t turn out the way they hoped. I heard a speaker — a bishop, in fact — who talked about life being like a stream. You’re in a canoe. If you do nothing more than just sit in your canoe, you will move. The current will take you somewhere. But if you care about where you end up, you have to put a little muscle into it. You have to paddle. Sometimes the current will be on your side, and the paddling will be easy. Sometimes you’ll be rowing against the current, and your path will be difficult. To me that’s what the Escape Plan is all about: changing the way you think and act. There are a million and one reasons to stay still in that boat. Change is never easy. But if you want to end up somewhere that gives you a feeling of peace, happiness and true fulfillment, it’ll take a little effort. One thing that I’ve learned from this whole thing is that the effort is SO worth it.
Dark Room Confessionals:
Bonus Video: Kim and Jason
As I was thinking about this challenge in the shower this morning the perfect idea fell from the sky, or at least from over the shower curtain. As part of Jason’s practical joke on me, he threw marshmallows over the curtain at me. I was not expecting that at all. This did inspire me to seek revenge as the motivation for the practical joke I would soon play him. As more marshmallows showed up throughout the day, I was more and more excited to get to lunch where the joke would take place. I decided to take one of the many marshmallows that Jason threw at me and I hid it at the bottom of his cup of milk. In order to get it heavy enough to keep it at the bottom of the cup I stuffed the marble from 
I’m not a practical joker by nature, and I’m not especially fond of the really cruel ones. (Maybe I’m afraid of karma exacting revenge.) It took me a while to get into the spirit, but once I did, I had fun with it. I took a playful approach on my target, who happened to be some girl named Kim.
Well, as you may remember from 
I hate origami. I only wish I knew that before I started this challenge. I spent half an hour trying to make some “simple” origami creations for Kim. We just got back from Tampa, and she manages all of the details for my speaking engagements. I wanted to thank her all of her hard work — she really does a great job, and makes it look easy. I was so excited to make a little origami sculpture. “This will be so cool,” I thought. “Very creative,” I thought. “And simple, too!” I thought.
(In a related story, while Kim was doing her project — completely independent of me — she found a cartoon of A BLUE BIRD MAKING ORIGAMI. I wish I could make this stuff up.)
Two words: Swedish Fish! They were like the Cadillac of gummy candy growing up. We rarely got them but when we did, I savored every bite. I honestly haven’t had them since childhood and I’m ashamed that I have deprived myself of such joy all of these years. I have to admit what I was originally looking for was shoestring red licorice. I thought that was so neat that you could tie it in a bow and then eat it. Since we are in a different state tonight (sunny FL) I wasn’t sure where to even start to shop around. The Swedish Fish are a great 2nd choice. Boy do they get stuck in your teeth, though.
I strolled down the candy aisle at a supermarket in Tampa looking for a package of childhood memories. I found them in a box of Sour Patch Kids. As a wee lad, I loved these little buggers. Most grown-ups I knew didn’t know why I’d subject myself to such a horrible abomination disguised as candy. Sour Patch Kids truly are an assault on the ol’ tastebuds; I couldn’t get enough of ’em as a kid. It’s been a long time since I’ve had one, but they still make me pucker.
When I was in third grade I got my ears pierced. This was a big deal. I was so excited. I had an earring tree, which was home to my many different pairs- both plastic and metal. Now, some twenty years later I find myself earring-less. I don’t often wear them, and I’m not really sure why. So, today I dug out my pair of ladybug earrings and put them on, I love these ones because they really look like I have ladybugs on my earlobes. I think I want to go get a bunch of other childlike earrings. It added a touch of fun to my day. Plus, it was kind of like a warning signal for others who saw me today. WARNING: This person does NOT take herself too seriously. (At least I’m trying not to.)
Today’s challenge was a little bit more difficult than it may seem. On any given day, you might find me wearing jeans and a Superman or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup t-shirt. Accessorizing my wardrobe with a touch of childhood is fairly commonplace for me. Digging a little deeper, I thought about how kids love to play dress-up; getting all spiffed up like a “grown-up.” (Funny how growing up holds such appeal when you’re little.) I decided to don dress clothes today, accessorized by a Loony Toons tie and Superman watch. The only thing missing was my mom’s stern warning not to get “all messed up.”
If it were a summer day, I’d try and track down a neighborhood lemonade stand and leave a really big tip. As far as I know, Kim & Jason are the only ones I can think of that would set up shop in the middle of winter in Wisconsin. My thoughts drifted across continents, to a boy named Hailemariam who lives in Ethiopia. Kim and I have been sponsoring “Hal” for about 10 years now through 
When I was little I loved hearing bedtime stories. This was a nightly tradition. I had the chance to read my two nieces a bedtime story tonight. So, I squeezed my long legs into the bottom bunk of their bunk bed, with two exhausted girls, one on each side of me, as we shared one pillow. They picked out “Berenstain Bears, The Bad Habit.” Reading about “Sister Bear” and “Brother Bear” brought back some great memories. That’s definitely something I miss about teaching kindergarten — the stories.
Today was a long day. After yesterday’s whirlwind, we went down to see my brother and his wife and my new nephew, Caden. My blast from the past came during the Super Bowl when my neice offered me a stick of gum. I can’t remember the last time I had gum that wasn’t spearmint or peppermint flavored — you know, the grown-up flavors. She had three different kinds; I chose grape. A few chews in and I was a kid again, smacking on some Big League Chew. I loved that stuff. It reminded me of sitting on the bench in Little League, cheering for my teammates while pretending to me a big leaguer. It’s amazing how your taste buds can conjure up such specific memories.
My treat involved Jason’s face. Yes, the surprised look on his face when he walked through the door into his 30th (surprise!) birthday party. There is nothing more thrilling than the 30 seconds before the guest of honor comes into the surprise party and the 30 seconds after he/she has arrived. The biggest treat of all, though, was when I asked him if he knew about it, hoping he hadn’t been pretending for my sake, and he honestly assured that he didn’t know. Woo Hoo!
My version of an out-of-the-ordinary treat was completely overshadowed about fifteen minutes after I finished the challenge. I had lunch today with my brother Doug, and afterwards I had to run to the grocery store to pick up some mushrooms for Kim. I decided to splurge and pick up a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (Cherry Garcia). Definitely a treat in our household. The fact that it was on sale made me think it was my lucky day…
I love stand-up comedy. It started when I was younger watching Bill Cosby, Paula Poundstone, Tim Allen, Jerry Seinfeld, Jeff Foxworthy and Ellen Degeneres before she was know as just “Ellen”. I tend to laugh out-loud quite a bit at stand-up comedy. So, knowing this, I put on some 
When I need a laugh fix, I like watching funny movies — the kind my mom thinks are stupid (but secretly laughs at too.) Because I didn’t have time to watch a full movie, I browsed some of the best parts of my favorite ones, compliments of 
I decided to sit on a bench in a nearby park, which overlooks an open field. It is a very peaceful place. I’ve gone there before to sit before but this time was very different, it was sans my iPod. There were many obvious sounds — cars driving by, the far off sound of vehicles on the highway, birds, dogs barking, more dogs, more birds, more cars…then I heard it: the THUMP of a basketball against the backboard….THUMP. It was very faint and seemed to be far away, but it was a very distinct sound and upon hearing it I was immediately whisked back to my driveway growing up on Shady Lane. All of the games of PIG and HORSE…all of the missed shots. That sound was very familiar to me. It’s funny, had I heard the “swoosh,” I don’t think I would’ve been “whisked back.”
Anyway, I usually take a walk in the morning, and there is a little park in the neighborhood behind our place. I decided to sit there for a while. At first I could only hear the annoying din of “worldly” sounds: the hum of distant city traffic, a jet flying overhead, a garbage truck making its rounds. Eventually, I started to notice the squirrels playing in the brush nearby. And then I heard the birds. In the beginning, there was only one generic “bird” sound, but it wasn’t long before I could start to make out different species. Three, maybe four unique bird calls (including a