This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #17: Old Dog, New Tricks: Learn how to do something new today. Your time limit: 30 minutes. At a speaking gig a few weeks ago, a woman in the audience came to our table afterwards and immediately joined Club K&J. In getting to know her better, we soon realized that she had come to the right place. She shared that not too long ago she signed up for a welding class. Her eyes widened with childlike excitement as she explained further. "Ya know, the sparks, machinery... it's all kinda like working with fireworks!" (Quick …
Delight in the Little Things
My Neighborhood
Being the youngest, I often had the experience of an only child. With my next oldest sister two years ahead of me in school I had two years, when I was three and four-years-old, where I had the house to myself (me and my mom, that is). As I mentioned in December, Mr Rogers became a dear friend of mine, along with the smiling faces and furry friends on Sesame Street. I felt like I had a whole bunch of friends- Mr. Hooper, Bob, Gordon, Susan, Luis, Maria. Not to mention the even sillier ones like Big Bird, Mr. Snuffleupagus, The Count, and Oscar the Grouch. Sesame Street was simply a part of …
Tip of the Week: Prison Break
This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #18: Prison Break: Get out of your element. Go somewhere you’ve never been before. Last week we were in Atlanta for a speaking program. After the event the host asked us where we were heading for dinner. We excitedly shared that we were going to get some traditional southern cooking at the infamous famous Mary Mac's Tea Room. Known for their southern fried chicken and pot likker with cracklin' bread, we knew we'd get a real taste of the south. The host and her colleague sheepishly admitted that even though they have lived in …
27 Ways to Stomp Out Spring Stress
Every season brings its own natural stressors. Spring is no different. The busyness of spring sports, spring cleaning, and don't forget about taxes. The weather gets nicer by the day, and yet the to-do list leaves little room for enjoying it. David Schkade, PhD, a psychologist and professor of management at the University of California San Diego shared in a recent article for "O" The Oprah Magazine that "if you transfer even an hour of your day from an activity you hate (commuting, scrubbing the bathroom) to one you like (reading, spending time with friends), you should see a significant …
Tip of the Week: Outside the Lines
This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #24: Outside the Lines. Figure out a way to add some color to your day in a new, unusual, or wacky way. Color just makes things more fun. Whether it's a colorful necktie, hat, fun socks or shoe laces, it proves to be an easy way to add some fun to your day. I know Dr. Seuss would back me up on this one. If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good. -Dr. Seuss Speaking of Seuss, when Jason originally did this challenge for the Escape Plan, he took a page out of Seuss' book (Not literally- that would be …
Tip of the Week: Five Hundred Pennies
This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #28: Five Hundred Pennies. Buy something that captures the spirit of childhood for under $5.00 (including tax). Remember when you were little and you had that quarter (or nickel, depending on the generation) burning a hole in your pocket? One of the easiest places to spend my allowance was at K-Mart. They had a nice selection of paper dolls, as well as an impressive display of vending machines - you know the kind that have the ginormous gum balls, rings, jelly bracelets, tattoos, Ike & Mikes, and bouncy balls. There was so …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Tip of the Week: Listen Up
Our Insider subscribers know that this week's Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week), is #31: Listen Up. Find a place to sit quietly for ten minutes. Listen for at least one sound that you would not have normally noticed. When's the last time you sat quietly for ten whole minutes? If you're like me, you are feeling a bit surprised that the first month of '08 is coming to a close. Where did the time go? As Ferris Bueller reminded us, "Life moves pretty fast. If we don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." …