This week’s prize is a set of Wedding Magic Beans. Within each hot stamped velour pouch is a collection of agriculture and heirloom beans that have been marked with thoughtful words using a patent pending process. The beans can be kept as a sentimental token or planted, however the true magic is seen when the planted beans sprout. The words are still on the pods as they emerge from the soil. People can actually see their wishes growing!

Words included in each Wedding pouch: Honor, Love, Desire, Grow, Devote, Balance, Forgive, Promise, Enjoy, and Listen.

Here’s how to enter:

1. Just leave a comment on this post, answering this week’s question: “What is your earliest wedding memory?”
2. 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.
3. We’ll contact the winner by e-mail to find out where to send the prize.

Good luck! And don’t miss any of the other cool stuff for the young at heart at The Kim & Jason Lemonade Stand!

Club K&J members get exclusive access to Kim & Jason TV, featuring all sorts of exciting video content, including Adultitis Relief Brief episodes. (Learn more.)

Club K&J members get exclusive access to Kim & Jason Radio, featuring insightful interviews with cool people and other awesome audio content. (Learn more.)

This is such a fun challenge! Who doesn’t like to dream about the future? It’s inevitably filled with hope and possibilities of wonderful blessings!

The law of attraction is a mysterious thing. I had a neat moment last Friday when I was cleaning out some papers near my desk. I found two copies of Wisconsin Women Magazine, one from October 2007 and one from December 2007. I remember picking them up with the conscious mindset that I wanted to be in there somehow. Maybe if I looked through them closely, I’d find a connection. Of course, as life happens the magazines got placed under some papers and weren’t seen again for what ended up being seven months… the exact same day that the August issue of the magazine came out, with Jason and I on the cover. The cool part of this story is that we were approached by them to be on the cover. (Read the article here.) By the way, Jason broke records with this… being the first man to ever grace the cover! Don’t you love his socks?!

Don’t skip this challenge! It could truly impact the details of your future.

Share with us in the comments of the Escape Plan blog what dreams you’re recording this week. Be sure to stop back and let us know when they are accomplished.

It’s true: This is the 1,000th post. Maybe by the time we get to 2,000, they’ll have developed the technology that will allow me to make confetti and streamers shoot out of your computer. Someday.

I can’t even begin to take credit for all 1,000 posts. Kim started up her own blog during the summer of 2005 and we combined forces and merged blogs last August. She doesn’t give herself nearly enough credit, but the truth is that she has written stuff that I wish I could claim as my own.

I started this thing on April 22, 2002 — over six years ago! — well before I had even heard of the term “blog.” The first post actually appeared in a thread called “Bird Droppings” on an infrequently visited message board called The Sidewalk. Some of you K&J veterans may even remember it! (And by “some” I mean Jenna.) Here’s an excerpt of the very first post, “The Beginning of Why“:

I’m not sure how this journal will evolve, but I hope it will be at least somewhat interesting to whomever finds themselves reading it. The reason for starting this is not because I feel that I have some great knowledge or experiential wisdom to share, but mainly because my wife thought I should. Apparently, she thinks there are people besides her who might like knowing some of the thoughts that take up residence in my head.

My plan is to just write stuff here from time to time; stuff about the strip, the characters, and the daily ups and downs that go with trying to live out this dream. I imagine it will be sort of cathartic for me, which is good, because even if no one reads it, I’ll have saved tons of money on a psychologist.

The good news is that people have been reading, and I have been touched by all of the kind words from people who have been inspired, encouraged, or entertained in some way. In looking back at my mention of chronicling the “daily ups and downs that go with trying to live this dream,” I can think of five lessons I’ve learned along the way. Maybe they’ll serve you as you pursue dreams of your own…

1) Just Get Started
It’s very common to hold off on chasing a dream until the conditions are perfect. The fact is that there will always be some reason to convince yourself to stay put. So if you want to start out on your dream, get over the fact that the economy sucks, you’re not as experienced as you wish you were, or your bank account doesn’t have as much money as you wish it did.

The other thing that keeps people from diving in is intimidation, especially when they compare themselves to the success of others. I’ve had people marvel at the design and comprehensiveness of our website. Sometimes they throw their hands up, lamenting that they’ll never have a web site like this. What they don’t realize is that this web site has evolved bit-by-bit over the course of eight years. It’s undergone countless revisions, thousands of tweaks, and we’ve added stuff to it one small piece at a time. Sorry to state the obvious, but Kim and I didn’t write all 1,000 posts in one day.

Everything worthwhile — including the pyramids of Egypt — has been built the same way: brick by brick. The only way to see a dream come to fruition is to get started.

2) It Will Probably Take Longer Than You Think
Optimism is what fuels the dreamer. This is good, because it gives you the energy to get up every morning and blow past obstacles that come your way. And there will be obstacles.

Eight years ago, I thought our revenues would be much higher than they currently are. I figured Kim and I would own a home and have at least two kids by now. Even though we are growing and moving in the right direction, certain things have taken longer than I expected.

But other than flash-in-the-pan Reality TV “stars,” there’s no such thing as an overnight sensation. Do a little research on the people who have achieved real success, and you will find a history of obscurity filled with hard work, serious setbacks, and marginal successes. You should expect the same. But don’t worry. Weeds grow quickly, sometimes overnight. Oak trees don’t. Which would you rather be?

3) Don’t Be Afraid To Change
When I first embarked on this path in 2000, the Kim & Jason comic strip was the center of everything. All of the products on the Lemonade Stand featured their likenesses, I had dreams of getting syndicated, and Club K&J was little more than a fan club for enthusiasts of the strip. (Check out the screen shot to the right to see what this site looked like when this blog began.)

But then the vision evolved, and my dream became much bigger than building a comic strip empire. I wrote a book. I started my speaking career. Kim and I began working together. The Lemonade Stand evolved to include thousands of new products, most of them having nothing to do with the Kim & Jason characters. We started impacting new people in new ways.

On December 11, 2007 I announced my decision to retire the daily comic strip. Let me tell you, that was a toughie. I feared that my dream was dying and I struggled to let go. But let go I did, and the business — and mission — evolved in remarkable ways. I took about a year off from Kim & Jason, which allowed my creative juices to bubble up. Now I am working on a new Kim & Jason project that fits better with my current lifestyle and has me more excited than I’ve been in a long while.

As you travel on your own path, don’t be afraid to change. It will be scary at times, but if you can go with the flow and follow where your heart leads, your dream will evolve beyond your wildest imagination.

4) Take Time to Look Back to See How Far You’ve Come
One thing I constantly have to remind myself to do is take time to look back at how far we’ve come. I tend to be a very forward-thinking person with big dreams. When you have big dreams, it’s easy to get caught up in a perpetual state of “never quite there.” To avoid burning out, it is vitally important to take inventory of what you’ve been able to accomplish.

In the past eight years, I’ve written three books (one of which was published by a major publisher), launched a career as a professional speaker, was named the “Rising Star” of the National Speakers Association of Wisconsin, secured licensing deals for Kim & Jason in countries like Japan and Australia, and moved into a ridiculously awesome new office. Not too shabby for a shy kid from a small town who started out in an old apartment with no money. These are the things I need to reflect on when I feel like we’re not making any progress.

When chasing a dream, be careful not to only compare where you are with where you want to be. Don’t forget to spend time comparing where you are to where you used to be.

5) Go With God
Faith is vitally important to me and Kim. We’ve had many dark and scary moments, moments that made us question our sanity and consider throwing in the towel. But time and time again, God has provided for us in amazing ways, often just in the nick of time. He’s guided me in directions I’d never considered and led me to people that I needed to know. And He’s given us the strength to keep going, even when the road was dark and hope seemed lost. I can’t imagine undertaking this journey without him.

I believe all real dreams come from God; they were placed deep within our hearts by a creator that loves us. The only way to achieve God’s best for you is to follow his lead. Pray for guidance. Pray for wisdom. Pray for strength. Somehow, he orchestrates things so that they always work out for the best.

These are five lessons I’ve learned while chasing my dream. And as the journey continues, I’m well aware that school is still in session.

Like reading Kim & Jason? The duo is starring in a brand new project called Monsters. Go behind-the-scenes and follow the adventure as it unfolds as a Club K&J member! (Learn more.)

It’s the Duck Duck Goose t-shirt. And it’s tagless.

If you’re a Club K&J member and you want in, act fast to ensure you get the the size you need from the first print run. Details here.

This week’s prize is a Rubber Duckie Kit. This nostalgic kit explains how the familiar tub toy became a true icon of childhood, and why it’s become so collectible. Featuring a classic rubber duck plus an 80-page book detailing history, trivia, and trends, illustrated with photos of the author’s extensive collection, it’s an essential for kitsch aficionados.

Packed inside this informative book, you’ll find everything you need to have a swell time with your favorite duckie–his life history, a bubble bath tutorial, cleaning tips for dirty ducks, tub-time trivia, and much more! Best of all, it includes a classic rubber duckie who will make a great addition–or beginning–to any collector’s flock!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Just leave a comment on this post, answering this week’s question: “What’s your favorite childhood bath time memory?”
2. 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.
3. We’ll contact the winner by e-mail to find out where to send the 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 Lance:

My favorite bath time memory… is watching my kids build bubble beards and all the giggles, when a tub is an event, not a task.  However, my wife’s worst memory is when dad put Tide in the tub thinking it would create better bubbles.

Even though this week’s contest is over, you can still buy your very own Rubber Duckie Kit at the Kim & Jason Lemonade Stand. And stay tuned next week for the next chance to win!

There’s a huge distance between being informed and fear mongering. Not to be a media basher, but the reality is that bad new sells.

Here’s a sampling of the top news stories in Madison last night…
Murder on Madison’s South Side, Abduction Investigation, GM to Speed Up Closure of Janesville Plant, On the Menu: Higher Prices?, Madison Bus Driver Could Face Felony Charges.

Not that I’m advocating denial here, but do we need this negative programming right before our night of rest? It’s no surprise that there’s a major connection between lack of sleep and stress levels. With that in mind, I share with you the following…

Top 5 Ways to Sleep Well at Night

1. Do not watch the news.
2. Do not watch the news.
3. Do not watch the news.
4. Do not watch the news.
5. Do not watch the news.

Jason and I rarely ever watch the news. I get my news from USA Today’s breaking news email alerts. Everything else, locally, that is newsworthy certainly finds it’s way to my ears without my help- grocery store check-out lines, the talk from people after church, or headlines on the newspapers I step over on my daily walk.

Do yourself a favor and limit your intake of fear. It goes a long way on your journey to fight Adultitis.

The Kim & Jason daily comic strip officially retired in 2007, but that wasn’t the end of Kim & Jason. Nope, not by a longshot.

I’ve been busy with a new project. It’s a new adventure for Kim and Jason, a story that deals with the monsters under the bed and the things that test our patience. The script is finished, and a number of paintings are already finished. So far, I’m very pleased with the results. This is already turning out really, really cool.

I’m intending to publish the story as a full-color hardcover book sometime next year. But in the meantime, I’m going to be releasing the pages one at a time over at the Clubhouse. Hopefully this will be exciting news for those of you jonesing for some new K&J adventures, as you’ll be able to follow the story one page at a time.

The first page is already up. You can take a look here.

We love getting questions, and often answer them on our blog and in our magazine, podcasts, and videos.

Just fill out the simple form here. Thanks!

Now I’m not sure if you know this or not, but there is kind of an entire industry that caters to providing stuff for babies. I’ve heard rumors about these giant, warehouse-type stores designed just for this purpose. I think there are even stores that I frequent often that supposedly have entire departments devoted to this sort of thing, but I’ve never noticed them before.

They have basically evaluated every single sliver of your baby’s life, and created one-hundred-fifty-seven trillion products that allow you to micro-manage it accordingly. They even have a special bar you can attach to your bathtub that has the sole purpose of giving him something to hold on to as he enters and exits the bath. If you wanted to, you could easily outfit your entire house to look like a nursing home, with the only difference being that the residents are under two feet tall. (I could write a whole post on the similarities between nurseries and nursing homes.)

So yeah, there’s a lot of stuff. Although it looks like we’ll have to go back, because the automatic diaper-changing machine must have been out of stock the day we were there.

I’m sure it’s a popular item.

I actually enjoyed the process of registering. I liked certain parts exceptionally well; especially the barcode scanning part of it. Most things involving baby cater to a decidedly feminine point-of-view, but I am reasonably certain that the person who developed the barcode scanner had the masculine soul in mind. And I appreciate that.

I liked being in charge of the gun. First of all, it looks like it was used as a prop in Star Wars, plus it shoots lasers. LASERS! Echoing back to the ancestral days of hunting and gathering, it was as if Babies”R”Us became a dense and expansive forest, and my job was to shoot down things that my baby would need. I felt like such a capable provider. (Never mind the fact that the things I scanned are items that I expect other people to buy for me.)

I feel sorry for any expectant (and frankly, emasculated) fathers whose wife takes control of the scanner. It’s an important role, ladies. For the love of God, don’t take it away from him.

The lady who helped get us all set up at Babies”R”Us tried offering some helpful advice. She said to register for things you need for the whole first YEAR of baby’s life, not just the first few months. This was not very helpful for me, as I’m still trying to get my head around trying to figure out what a newborn needs. The idea of prepping for a one-year-old at the same time just blows my mind.

My brain started drowning in possibilities: “Pants. We’ll definitely need pants. And sippy cups, I think. Or will she be past that stage already? Oh dear, do I need to start thinking about training wheels for the bike already? We don’t even have a bike yet! We should probably register for a bike AND training wheels…and a helmet, right?…”

Somehow, I was able to pull myself back from the nether-regions of near hyperventilation to focus on the task at hand: Get the stuff that’s already on Kim’s list.

Whew.

I am happy to say that as overwhelmed as we (and by “we” I mean “I”) might have been upon entering the store, we quickly got the hang of things. I could tell because I made Kim laugh when I said in a tone that was more serious and concerned than confused or sarcastic, “Do we need emery boards?”

Likewise, I knew we had hit full stride when Kim yelled, “YES! Sleep sacks!”

It was an exciting an productive day, and all of my thoughts just won’t fit in one post.

(To be continued…)

When I was about nine-years-old I distinctly remember consciously NOT wanting to grown-up anymore. It looked like too much work… too many hassles… too much stress. It was much easier (and TONS more fun) being a kid. My oldest sister was turning sixteen and looking for a job and it hit me that my childhood was ticking away and was eventually going to come to an end. Reality check.

One of the things I prematurely mourned was the loss of free time to do what I loved… things like going on a bike ride, lying in the hammock and listening to the chimes, or going to the library and checking out a monstrous stack of books.

Who says the life of an adult has to be all doom and gloom, consumed with chores, bill paying, and work? Sure, these are the realities that inevitably need to accompany the responsibility of being a grown-up, but why do they have to devour every waking moment? If you cannot find 15-30 minutes on a regular basis to do something you love, then what’s the point?

By the way, if it’s been so long since you’ve done this that you don’t even know what you’d spend your time doing, then there’s a pretty good chance you have a severe case of Adultitis. Don’t fret, you’ve come to the right place.

Leave us a comment in the Escape Plan Blog to let us know what you spent your 15- 30 minutes doing?

That is until I thought about the easiest way to eat an elephant, which is…

…one bite at a time.

So I’ve decided to break the project down into chunks. It’s pretty convenient that I had the foresight to divide my book into chapters, so that part worked out nicely. So now I’m in the process of recording one chapter at a time, which is much more manageable. The first one, “Delight in the Little Things,” is done, and I have posted it in the Clubhouse for Club K&J members to download for free.

Delighting in the little things is a very important skill that most of us lose as we get older. The cool thing is that it’s not hard to re-train ourselves to see life with new eyes. In fact, it’s one of the best things I know of to make life more enjoyable.

Download the audio chapter here.

Like reading Kim & Jason? The duo is starring in a brand new project called Monsters. Go behind-the-scenes and follow the adventure as it unfolds as a Club K&J member! (Learn more.)

Here are a couple of pictures, the first one is of me and one of my heroes, Donald Duck. The second one is me and another buddy of mine.

• Hometown… I’m originally from Chicago, Illinois… not the suburbs, mind you… actually in the city… Northwest side… (ok, so I’m a city snob!… everyone always says they’re from Chicago, and then you find out they really didn’t live in the city… I did!) I also lived in St. Louis, MO for many years (once again, in the city… ) before moving to the greater Denver Metro region (yep… suburbia! Notice how I didn’t say I lived in Denver, even though most people wouldn’t have a clue where Highlands Ranch, CO is?)

• My biggest dream… I’ve got two… the real biggie is to go to Egypt and ride a camel down to the pyramids and the Sphinx. That’s probably going to take a while to achieve. So right now my big dream (for the not so distant future) is to attend the Olympics in Vancouver (2010). That would be way too cool!

• My inspiration… St. Francis of Assisi, no doubt about it! He was content with the simplest of things, and realized how amazing everything in nature is. And felt connected to it!

• When I was a kid, I… I loved to collect bugs. (I still love bugs!) They are so amazing… But don’t ever kill them! Collect them, watch them, befriend them, then let them go.

• One way I stay childlike is… By doing something fun everyday. It can be simple, like just telling a joke or funny story (though it usually isn’t something that simple!) I was going to say, “by doing the unexpected,” but people have started to expect the unexpected from me!

• What I know so far… Is that everyday can be an adventure! The world is filled with people to meet, places to see, and things to do!

• My favorite thing about “Kim & Jason” is… The chance to do the things that add real enjoyment to life, and not worry about what someone else is going to say or think! You’re not the boss of me, right?

Become an official member of Club K&J and have a chance to share your story, just like Jim.

This week’s prize is a Pinocchio Tape Measure. A whimsical tape measure straight from Gepetto’s workbench. Pull Pinocchio’s nose for a fully functioning, 60-inch measuring tape; press the button in the middle and the tape springs back!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Just leave a comment on this post, answering this week’s question: “What’s your all-time favorite Disney movie?”
2. 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.
3. We’ll contact the winner by e-mail to find out where to send the 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 Steph:

The minute I read the request I knew exactly what movie I’d choose. Then I had to go out online to figure out what it was called. When I was six years old, my dad took me to the drive in to see the Disney movie - The Unidentified Flying Oddball. I remember so little about the film, except that there were knights and a spaceman together and they did crazy stuff, like build robots. What I do remember is my daddy putting a blanket in the back of the truck, holding my hand to the concession stand and buying me popcorn, and continuously asking me, “Do you understand what’s going on?” I’m pretty sure I lied and said yes!

Even though this week’s contest is over, you can still buy your very own Pinocchio Tape Measure at the Kim & Jason Lemonade Stand. And stay tuned next week for the next chance to win!

If you haven’t done one of these five things this summer, you need to get out your calendar and schedule one in… NOW.

1. Catch a lightening bug and put it in a jar in your bedroom.

2. Grill out and have a picnic. Don’t forget the sweet corn and cherry pie.

3. Go to an ice cream stand and get a treat, the more scoops the better.

4. Lay under the stars with a friend and dream together.

5. Go to a drive-in movie. (There are still 500 operating theaters in the U.S. Find one near you.)

What’s your favorite summer staple?

When I was teaching Kindergarten, on average, I probably received three pictures a day from individual students in my class. Usually, one of the three would be left on my desk at some point throughout the day, nameless. I would find it around 4PM while attempting to find my desktop. It always brought a smile to my face, even after the toughest of days. Kids love to make pictures for others, it’s a simple way they show affection.

Yesterday at our niece’s sixth birthday party, she came up to me and Jason at one point with a handmade card. On the cover it said, in her handwriting, “To Aunt Kim and Uncle Jason.” On the inside was a large smiley face. After thanking her for the gift, I asked her, “What’s this for?” She casually shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t know,” and she walked away.

When’s the last time you doodled a picture for someone else?

As adults life is much to busy, filled with much more important things. There’s no time for silly foolishness. Right?

Wrong!

Life is too short NOT to be silly. A simple way to do this is through doodles. So, grab that marker. Dust off your box of crayons. Get to work putting a smile on someone else’s face.

Share with us about your doodle experience this week in the comments of the Escape Plan Blog.

Oh, and you might also like this post about kids and fireworks and delighting in the little things: I’ll Have What They’re Having.

(Click the comic to see it bigger.)