Official Website of JillandKate

This morning I checked my Facebook page…to see what news my friends had to say & there I am just scrolling along & THIS AD POPS UP:

I’m sorry. What?!? Did I really just see an advertisement for “curvy women” on my timeline? Facebook, are you calling me fat? Cause last time I checked I don’t think I inputted my weight into the “about me” section…so what the heck Facebook? Are you looking at pictures I upload, sending them through a filter & if they don’t fall under a certain measurement filtering me into the “curvy” category?

Ladies & gentlemen… I got an ad for BIG & BEAUTIFUL SINGLES in my area. I’m a little peeved.

I mean, are they running ads for women they deem NOT curvy that read…”Meet men who love skinny girls in your area.”

I find this aggravating on many levels. Why the heck is Facebook making judgements about my weight? For the love of all that’s pure and holy I don’t want to even begin to think that Facebook advertisers are worried about what size my jeans are. And what gives them the right to call me big?

I am by no means a size 2 but why are we being programed to believe that anything above a stick figure is BIG? What is wrong with people? Also, why or how are we defining BIG and WHO CARES ANYWAY? I am saying this because it’s a real fight to keep this line of thinking intact. When images on magazines are photoshopped to high heavens and taking away any resemblance of “a curve” or cellulite or anything that real women have…it’s no wonder that these messages are being programmed into our psyches.

Ugh…it’s so aggravating. I know it’s not the biggest deal in the world but it’s these daily little fights that can derail us if we aren’t careful. I don’t want to focus on what size my pants are. Or if I looked fat in that picture. I mean, I know all of us women (and men) can tend to hyper-focus on that but I don’t want that. I want to focus on the positive things. The beautiful things in life. I am healthy. I am active. I can go to the grocery store at any time and buy food. I am safe. There are so many more important things than “curvy” or “not curvy.”

Much love,

-kate-

Friends friends friends,

We have a StageIt show tomorrow night and we really really really want you to come! Maybe you have seen us tweet about StageIt before and you don’t know what we’re talking about…well now’s your chance to find out. Here it goes:

StageIt is an online venue that allows musicians to stream exclusive LIVE concerts to fans. We LOVE playing these shows and many of you have seen us play online several times. If you haven’t seen us, we want you to join us for the first time tomorrow night! And guess what? It only costs 10 cents. For real!

It’s super easy…here’s how it works:

Go to http://www.stageit.com/jill_and_kate/live/23506 , click signup to set up an account and then click the BUY button.You will then have an opportunity to purchase credits (which Stageit calls “Notes” ; 10 Notes = $1.00). Notes allow you to pay for tickets to see shows and to tip performers during the show.

Our show tomorrow is “Pay What You Can,” which means you can pay whatever you can afford (minimum 1 Note/10 cents). Once you have Notes, they can be used for any show! There are so many great shows to attend too…you will never be bored online again!

So if you are free tomorrow night, Tuesday May 14 at 8pm CST…please come hang with us. We will play some songs, tell some stories, probably drink some wine…maybe even margaritas. Who knows. And you can drink whatever you want too. And wear whatever you want because you can watch from your couch. Seriously, does it get any better? Okay, so see ya there!!

-J&K-

At the end of this Mother’s Day, a really heavy thought is on my mind. I keep thinking about all of the babies out there that have no one to call mom. The mom-less. I watched this SoulPancake video today (which is so ridiculously cute…I swear all the videos from #KidPresident I watch at least 10 times) and in the video he talks about how moms make everything better. How moms tell us that everything is going to be okay. How moms change the world with their love.

And that has certainly been my experience with my mom. She is my number 1 fan. She has demonstrated sacrificial love for my siblings and me over and over again. This notion of “moms make everything better” is absolutely known in my heart, mind and life. (Let me also make mention that my dad is just as amazing but since it’s Mother’s day that’s where my focus is )

And so tonight I think about all those babies with no mom. The children that need their moms to tell them that they can chase after any dream. That they can achieve great, incredible things. They need a mom to tell them that everything is going to be okay.

I think about the kids that I know by name that have no one to call mom. The kids in Africa that I know personally…their individual stories of heart ache and abandonment. Their stories of loss and grief and sadness. These kids are just the tiniest percentage of kids all around the world that can identify as mom-less.

My heart is heavy tonight for those precious faces that so long for that “mom role” to be filled in their lives.

I am such an action person and “fixer” that it literally kills my soul sometimes to know that I alone cannot fix this problem. I know it sounds silly but that is how my brain works…that’s how I’m wired….I want to find moms & dads for all those kids out there that don’t have any.

What can I do from here? What can you do? Well I’ve brainstormed a little & here are my thoughts:

Locally, step up for someone who might need that role of mom filled. You don’t have to be someone’s biological mother to help mother a child. Spend time with them. Show up for them. Find a kid in your neighborhood or through a Big Brothers/Big Sisters program or The Mentoring Project…it doesn’t need to be an orphan or a kid from the projects…maybe it’s a kid whose parents are going through a divorce and you’ve been there so you can relate. Maybe you’ve noticed a younger kid in your school that doesn’t have many friends. Find someone who might need that extra encouragement and go cheerlead for them.

Globally, find an organization that is helping care for orphans. Educate yourself on the orphan crisis. Whatever country you are in there are most likely orphans. Find ways to help. Raise money. Raise awareness. Talk about it. Talk about it. Talk about it. I definitely don’t have all the answers but I think discussion is a great tool for this great need/crisis. I know that my dad’s organization African Leadership Development is constantly looking at new projects for the Houses of Hope Africa and so if you are looking for an organization to get involved in, that’s a great one. (Pardon my bias.) And by all means, if Houses of Hope Africa is not your thing there are a number of other ones that might be: Warm Blankets International, Kids Around The World, World Orphans , Thirst Relief , Amazima Ministries are just to name a very few.

There are also super cool organizations that allow you to help people in third world countries by buying their stuff: 31 Bits & Crotchet Kids are just a few off the top of my head. This can help moms that may be in danger of losing their children (because they are not able to provide for them) to earn money and keep their kids with them. This helps keep kids out of the mom-less category.

Show love.

Love.

-Kate

PS. Here are some little faces that I get to love in South Africa…

I thought purge had a “d” in it. Whoops. So spelling is not my forté. Shocker. And spell check and auto-correct have just made me a worse speller. I get three letters in and see the squiggly red line under a word and hit delete a couple times and then guess at another way of spelling it. Then…if all else fails, I open a new tab and try typing the word into the google search tab…again…I just write it the way I think it should be and wait for the computer to tell me what I was actually trying to type. I wish I were better and would actually try harder to really know how to spell things but, well, umm, yeah…I don’t.

Spelling is not what I intended to write about. Purging. Purging with no d. That was the word for yesterday…if you don’t know what it means here ya go:

Yesterday was the day that I went through all of my closets/cabinets/shelves/baskets/containers/jars … a.k.a anything that houses any of my crap…I sorted through it and purged. Got rid of. Removed junk. Tossed the stuff I don’t use. Made bags of “give away”, “trash” and “keep sake.”

Maybe it’s just the time of year for Spring cleaning and changing over your winter clothes to summer clothes that makes me want to organize and pare down. (Although Nashville is not obeying the Spring weather very correctly…it’s been rainy & pretty darn cold here the past few days. Not okay Nashvegas.)

My cousin told me recently that she read an article about characteristics of happy people. I was fascinated by this and I really should have looked up the article myself but she told me that two of the things that “happy people” had in common were 1) they went to bed and got up at the same time every day and 2) they didn’t have a lot of stuff. How does Kate stack up? 1) FAIL. 2) FAIL.

Now I’m not over here boo-hoo-ing saying I’m an unhappy person, but if I’m being honest I’m an artist so my mood can fluctuate with the best of them…which I’m thankful for because that’s what makes me just so gosh darn me.

I was also interested in hearing this because my book club just got done reading a book all about getting rid of the excess in your life. It’s called “7″ and it’s written by this adorably-funny real-life chica named Jen Hatmaker. She takes on different issues each month for 7 months…one month she only wears 7 articles of clothing for the whole month. One month she eats only 7 foods for the month. It was fascinating. She really focuses in on what stuff we have in our lives and what takes up our time…including how our “stuff” takes up our time. It’s amazing the things that you can find when you create more space in your life by getting rid of the excess. I would highly recommend the read…it’s thought-provoking, funny and will definitely make you think about how you spend your money & your time. If you’re a visual person like me here is a copy of the cover of the book:

I don’t know about you but I LOVE purging. Just getting rid of stuff makes me feel like I have more space for my thoughts. Plus, giving stuff away just feels great. Knowing that someone else could get use out of something that’s been sitting in one of my cupboards unused for years makes me feel good.

This is a true story: I had 2 juicers sitting in one of my kitchen cupboards. 2 people. That’s right. What does one person need with TWO juicers???? I was momentarily really peeved with myself. Why hadn’t I given it away sooner? Ughhh. I immediately texted a friend, asked if they needed/wanted a juicer and told them that they could have mine. Woohoo! I have more space & my friend has a juicer. Score. Purging for the win.

I imagine all the hoarders of the world are not enjoying this blog very much.

Aces.

-kate

So this one time (it was a Wednesday) we ordered a copy of Lauren Graham’s new book that came out & we tweeted about it. It’s no secret that we adore Ms. Graham…if you haven’t watched the entire series of Gilmore Girls at least twice we can’t be friends. Just kidding. Well not really. It’s a great show & that’s when our fan-girling over Lauren Graham began. We saw her on Broadway in Guys & Dolls and even got to meet her after the show.  Thank the Lord above that this woman was just as kind, down to earth, and funny as you think she’d be. She was seriously the nicest ever. We pretty much had perma-grins on our faces for a week after.

We are SO happy that she has returned to weekly television…now she is the totally cool mom on NBC’s hit show Parenthood. If you don’t watch it, stop reading this blog and go watch it. You will laugh & cry and then get mad at how much the show makes you cry. It’s fabulous.

And now Lauren has written a book…Someday, Someday, Maybe…and we are SO EXCITED to read it. We’re sure it’s going to be great!! What can’t she do? Nothing. Nothing we tell you.

Oh yes, so remember how we said that we tweeted that we ordered her book…well…she responded to us…and with just one tweet she had both of us pretty much freaking out with excitement:

That’s right. Day made. Fan-girling was off the charts. Still is.

-j&k-

I love my friend Will Gray :) Here is a pic from us years ago as he was coaching me in the studio. I continue to learn so much from him every day

-kate