They say good things come in small packages. They’re usually pretty cute, too. Whoever “they” are…they are right. I’m extremely happy to announce the arrival of a brand new book that is being published by Running Press. It’s titled, “Escape Adulthood: Rediscover the Carefree Kid Within.” It’s printed in full color. It’s hard cover. And it’s really, really small. Running Press publishes all sorts of these miniature editions — you may have seen the mini version of Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” at your favorite book store. And now Running Press is on the Kim & Jason bandwagon.
This project has been over a year in the making, and we’re really excited about it. It’s basically a mini-version of “Escape Adulthood: 8 Secrets from Childhood for the Stressed-Out Grown-Up.” Frankly, I’m amazed at how good of a job the editor did in condensing the original book down, while still retaining the overall message. It makes me feel awfully long-winded, to be honest. (You rock, Teresa!)
The book is coming out on March 31, 2008, but you can pre-order your copy at Amazon.com. They’re great little add-on gifts, and particularly wonderful for people who have a mild case of Adultitis, hate to read, or refuse to read books without pictures.
Meanwhile, the S.W.E.L.L. (Supremely Wonderful & Exciting Loot Lottery) prize winner for February is Club K&J member John Carico! John, who was randomly selected from the gang of Club K&J members, wins an autographed advance copy of the yet-to-be-released book. Congrats, John!
Do YOU wanna have a chance to win next month’s S.W.E.L.L. prize? Become an official Club K&J member today!
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In this episode, brought to you from studio 315 in Madison, Wisconsin, we interview Frida Waara, an adventurous woman who describes snow as her favorite toy and was part of the first all-female unsupported expedition team to ski to the North Pole. We also talk about the rise of adventure travel, missmatched gloves, and recap the first-ever Kim & Jason Escape Event. Just click “Play” to listen to the show, or you can subscribe to the show in iTunes…
Show Notes…
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• Learn more about Frida Waara and her adventures at her website, www.fridawaara.com.
• News: Adventure Travel on the Rise (Pueblo Chieftan)
• The first ever Kim & Jason Escape Event was a big hit. We made homemade shrinky dinks. Check out what the other top finalists did here.
• Check out our cool thing this month, LittleMissMatched Gloves.
Win Stuff: You can win a $20 gift certificate to the Lemonade Stand by letting us know, “What is your favorite thing to do in the snow?” E-mail us or leave us a message at 608-554-0803.
Show Music: Coyote Sleeps by Ethan Elkind
Show Length: 60 minutes, 57 seconds
Shout Outs: Thanks to Frida Waara!
Feedback: We’d love to hear your thoughts! Add a comment below, e-mail us, or give us a jingle at 608-554-0803.
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Every Thursday, we pick out one of the cool things from the Kim & Jason Lemonade Stand and give it away. Yep, for free.
This week’s prize is Magnetic Fridge Chess. Chess is the ultimate game and will give you more than the recommended daily allowance of mental stimulation. And you can play this version on your fridge! Full instructions are included in the carton with 32 game pieces, chess board (16 cm x 16 cm - split into four pieces), and a “Your Move” piece to indicate whose turn it is.
Here’s how to enter:
- Just leave a comment on this post, answering this week’s question: “What was your favorite game to play as a kid?“
- Deadline for entries is 11:59 pm CST on the day of the post. We’ll pick a winner from the list of comments on the following Friday.
- We’ll contact the winner by e-mail to find out where to send the free prize.
Good luck! And don’t miss any of the other cool stuff for the young at heart at The Kim & Jason Lemonade Stand!
**UPDATE: This week’s winner was Sandy:
I loved to play “draw a line” We had a big family so you could play with 2 or 200, and you could play anywhere - even in the car on road trips. All you had to do was to draw a line on a piece of paper, and then exchange papers. You must then create something out of the other persons “line”. Boy, we did get creative with the original line as well as with our creations from each others lines! It was even more fun if each person had their own pencil color so you can tell what the original line was. PLUS, as a bonus… we were clever enough to create the inspiring name for this game ” Draw a Line.”
Even though this week’s contest is over, you can still buy your very own Magnetic Fridge Chess at the Kim & Jason Lemonade Stand. And stay tuned next week for the next chance to win!
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Last Saturday was the first ever Kim & Jason Escape Event. The challenge was called Kitchentertainment, and everyone was invited to do the following:
Make a childlike moment in your kitchen. It could be resurrecting an experience from your childhood or creating a brand new one.
Kim and I decided to make homemade Shrinky Dinks. Lots of people joined in on the fun, sharing with us stories, pictures, and videos of the event. All Club K&J members who participated were eligible to win a cool prize: a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker from Williams-Sonoma (valued at over $100) AND a copy of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream and Dessert Book. We pored over all of the entries, and decided on six finalists. The rest is up to YOU!
Take a look at the following entries (listed in alphabetical order by last name), and decide who did the best, most creative job of fulfilling this task. Then vote for that person in the poll below.
Finalist #1: Jill Gaudio
From Jill: “When I was a little girl I sometimes used to ‘cook’ with my dad. He would give me a little bowl and let me go wild with it. Here’s some of the ingredients; water, oregano, salt, pepper, ketchup, syrup, thyme, cinnamon, mustard, graded cheese, barbeque sauce, etc. I would mix all of these ingredients into my bowl of water and then hand it to my dad. He would pick up a spoon, put it up to his mouth, and pretend to take a sip. He even made the slurping sound, and me, being a believing kind of kid, thought he liked my soup!
So I thought it would be fun this weekend to recreate this ’soup.’ And it was! My roommate thought I was completely insane, but I had a blast! Thanks for the opportunity to relive one of my best childhood memories!!”
Finalist #2: Joyce Halm
From Joyce: “With a chocolate cake mix I made a dozen cupcakes. After letting them cool, I put a knitting needle through them to connect them. Then I took the cup ice cream cones and cut the tops off. I frosted the cones with chocolate frosting. I put the row of cupcakes (9) on the knitting needle & set them up on the ice cream cones to make legs. The row of cupcakes is the body. I frosted a straight pretzel for a tail. I then used graham crackers & shaped them into ears using frosting to cover them. After that I added small green marshmallows for the eyes and pink for the mouth. Put it all together and you get a WIENER DOG. I added a sign which said, ‘IT’S BEEN A LONG WIENER.’”
Finalist #3: Jim Peters
From Jim: “Those who know me will agree that just finding my way through the kitchen is in itself a major challenge! (It has frequently been said that the best thing I make for dinner is reservations!) So, actually creating something intrigued me. The first question I asked was, ‘What kid doesn’t like Rice Krispies Treats?’ Having never made them, I thought this might be a reasonable challenge.
But even I felt that simply making Rice Krispies Treats wasn’t all that spectacular. Noticing that the date of the Kitchentertainment Event was basically One Month ‘Til Easter, I asked another question: ‘What kid doesn’t like bunnies?’ or even more specifically, ‘The Easter Bunny?’ Thus, the goal of my challenge: to make Rice Krispies Treats that not only maintain some degree of edibility, but also bear some semblance to the Easter Bunny!” (View Jim’s slideshow below.)
Finalist #4: Natalie Regis
From Natalie: “My childhood love of the Easy Bake oven fueled my grown-up love of all things cooking. To help me escape adulthood I brought out my childhood toy to bake up some kitchentertainment!”
Finalist #5: Minette Sternke
Today, I was inspired by the Wishmas events, specifically the edible snowmen. I remember wondering back in December if you could make edible snowmen from popcorn balls. So, today I decided to try this. I found a recipe for popcorn balls on the Internet that looked easy (butter, marshmallow and vanilla over popcorn - how hard could that be?). Well…I proceeded to melt the butter and marshmallows. Once the marshmallows were melted, I was to add vanilla then pour the melted marshmallows & butter over the popped popcorn. I reached into my cupboard, pulled out a bottle of flavoring, thinking it was vanilla (but of course not checking the label!). I opened it up, added a little bit, then realized I was NOT smelling vanilla but something else entirely. I had added peppermint flavoring instead of vanilla! Ah, well, I decided to add red food coloring too just to get into the spirit of things. My twin sister and I have tried them and decided peppermint popcorn balls aren’t quite so bad after all!
I made one popcorn ball snowman with some very wicked red eyes and pretzel stick arms, then made “regular” popcorn balls out of the rest of the batch. I’m taking them to a meeting tonight to see if anyone wants to share. Here are pictures of the “wicked snowman” and the rest of his kingdom of snow balls!” (View Minette’s slideshow below.)
Finalist #6: Mary Beth Updike
From Mary Beth: “I looked through my niece’s cookbook (kids in the kitchen) and found a recipe for face paint. I decided that would be a lot of fun to do and very childlike. It was a simple recipe, it only takes cornstarch, cold cream, water, and food coloring. But the possibilities are endless. I had my niece’s help making the face paint and she decided on the colors we made (black didn’t work out, it turned puke green as she put it). She wanted to have her face painted as a butterfly, and I chose much simpler and put hearts on my cheeks. It was a lot of fun to do and a keeper recipe for a rainy or cold afternoon. Thanks for the challenge!
The pictures are of my stirring, Merlyn’s stirring, and us with our faces painted.” (View Mary Beth’s slideshow below.)
Place YOUR Vote!
Who did the best, most creative job of fulfilling this task?
This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #27: Spin Cycle. Take a routine you do everyday and put a childlike spin on it.
Routines are great for a lot of reasons (says the retired Kindergarten teacher), but they can easily shift into ruts.
“The only difference between a rut and a grave is their dimensions.” -Ellen Glasgow
The idea I am going to share is something we’ve passed along at our speaking programs. Most mornings within the first twenty minutes of your routine you can tell what kind of mood you’re in, hence determining what kind of day you’re ultimately going to have. There are just certain days when you wake up taking yourself a bit too seriously. You know the feeling. Here’s a surefire way to change your perspective… quickly.
When you get out of the shower, before you put your clothes on, look at yourself in the mirror…
And do the macarena!
You will not take yourself seriously all day. (Don’t know the macarena? Learn here!)
We guarantee it! It’s been proven. Last winter on the second evening of a two day program a 55-year-old guy came up to us and said, “Thanks! It worked. This morning when I got out of the shower I did the macarena in the mirror… and I didn’t take myself too seriously the whole day!”
We all laughed. Then Jason said, “Thanks for sharing that with us. And thank you for giving me a mental image I will never be able to erase.”
We can’t wait to hear what childlike twist you put on your routines this week. Share with us in the comments on the Escape Plan blog.
Related Posts:The first ever Kim & Jason Escape Event kicks off with us making some homemade Shrinky Dinks. Here’s the video:
Wanna make your own Shrinky Dinks? Here’s how.
Related Posts:Item #1
The first ever Kim & Jason Escape Event is Saturday. No matter where you live, you can join in the festivities. Club K&J members can win cool stuff.
Item #2
The first Feeling Lucky winner was announced today on Jenna’s blog. Watch the video to see if you won. If not, you can try to win next week.
Item #3
Jason has officially decided to endorse Mr. Potato Head for President of the United States.
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.
As a junior in college majoring in Early Childhood Education I worked part-time at a preschool on campus in a four-year-old room. In high school and college I battled some issues with acne. (Fun times.) Of course make-up helped but there were days that turned into weeks that were worse than others. On one such day during playtime a little girl spent way too long trying to convince me that I had to go home because I had chickenpox on my face. Her brother had the chickenpox and she knew all about it. She was very convincing.
Childhood honesty is refreshing to me.
Looking down the barrel of nine more months of political wrestling, with smear strategies and skeletons to divulge and exaggerate, I long for an honest candidate that will not just tell us what we all want to hear. At every turn there’s talk of the major league baseball steroid scandal. I yearn for a simple t-ball game where everyone is there because they want to play and have fun. As new corporate scandals surface everyday, it makes me smile to recall the days when the majority of your financial decisions surrounded how heavy your piggy bank was.
With President’s Day this week I can’t help but remember Honest Abe and the integrity that was once such a foundational measure of character.
Can grown-ups get back this childlike honesty?
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We’re happy to unveil a brand new Club K&J members-only t-shirt. It features the quote by Margaret Atwood: “Everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise.” This baby is going to be included in the welcome package for all new members, so if you’re not currently a member, you’ll get it free with your subscription. However, we are also offering it to current members who are interested in adding it to their wardrobe. It’s printed on a dark chocolate, heavyweight, high-quality Gildan Ultra 100% preshrunk cotton t-shirt.
So here’s the deal…
Who: Club K&J Members only (Not a member? Discover the benefits!)
Price: $20 (that includes shipping!)
Deadline to Order: Whenever.
How to Order: If you’re a Club K&J member, send us an e-mail letting us know how many shirts you want and what sizes you’d like. Then we’ll send you e-mail instructions for paying by PayPal.
Every Thursday, we pick out one of the cool things from the Kim & Jason Lemonade Stand and give it away. Yep, for free.
This week’s prize is a Blooming Heart Plant. Crack the heart and watch the “I Love You” bean sprout. They’re not the most romantic instructions, but the product is.
The top of the heart breaks off to create a simple pot for the “I Love You” bean to grow in. Simply water your heart and watch your love grow in the provided dirt. You don’t even have to get your hands dirty.
This is the perfect gift to show your lady you care, or a gift that your man won’t kill!
Here’s how to enter:
- Just leave a comment on this post, answering this week’s question: “Share a childhood encounter with a plant or a garden.”
- Deadline for entries is 11:59 pm CST on the day of the post. We’ll pick a winner from the list of comments on the following Friday.
- We’ll contact the winner by e-mail to find out where to send the free prize.
Good luck! And don’t miss any of the other cool stuff for the young at heart at The Kim & Jason Lemonade Stand!
**UPDATE: This week’s winner was Becca:
I saw this afternoon that my neighbor’s irises are starting to bloom. These are my favorite flower because we had a bunch of purple irises that grew around our mailbox when I was growing up. Every Memorial Day we would cut a huge bouquet and take them to my Grandmother’s grave. She died when I was three, so I don’t have any memories of her. But everytime I heard stories about her, I imagined she was wearing purple.
Even though this week’s contest is over, you can still buy your very own Blooming Heart Plant at the Kim & Jason Lemonade Stand. And stay tuned next week for the next chance to win!
Related Posts:It seems an inevitability that every parent comes to a point where they risk traumatizing their child with the hope of achieving a small sliver of sanity. I have a friend who told her daughter that bees like sticky, sweet things so if she didn’t get her hands washed after meals they might come in the house and sting her.
I think she’s become a big fan of pre-meal cleanliness.
You may remember Christopher Noxon, author of Rejuvenile and the feature interview from our thirteenth podcast. (You can listen to all of our podcasts here.) He recently helped his daughter conquer her hiccups via similarly questionable means. Sometimes you just gotta do whatever it takes. Enjoy this cautionary tale.
Related Posts: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 much to choose from! I was thrilled to “spend it all in one place.”
Last week when Jason and I were in Denver for some speaking events we ended up going to a neat shopping district looking for some ideas and inspiration for our retail shop and online store. We discovered a playful toy shop where we ended up spending a great deal of time. (Shocking, I know.) There were all sorts of goodies that would’ve served to accomplish this challenge successfully… one of them being this classic clown nose. Being a huge fan of the man who made this red nose so famous, Dr. Patch Adams, I had to get a picture. Something so simple and silly as a $2.99 piece of red foam really brightened my day.
Give this challenge a try this week and share with us in the comments on the Escape Plan blog what you decided to spend your allowance on and have fun annihilating the Adultitis in your life.
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