Official Website of JillandKate

If it isn’t Monday again. The weeks go by rather fast these days don’t they? For me they have been flying. I can’t believe it’s already March. Want to know what’s weird? As I was typing that, the Ellen show was on in the background and she said “I can’t believe it’s March…” It’s so crazy when stuff like that happens. I love it.

So I have these incredible friends back in Nashville who gave me the most awesome Christmas present ever. It’s a day planner with little notes/cards for every week that I am out on the road so that whenever I need a little pick-me-up from back home, I can open it up and read one of their cards. Seriously, best friends ever award. I’m so lucky.

Anyway, today’s card had a quote in it and you know how much I love quotes. So here it is:

“Rudeness is the weak person’s imitation of strength.”

I’ve never heard that one before, but it hit me pretty hard just now. It is pretty easy to get annoyed with little things and be rude especially out here on the road. It’s easy to lose perspective and for everything to become a much bigger deal than it actually is. It’s easy to become completely self-focused. Sometimes I just want to be complain and be rude and act like a two year old who needs a nap. But I have to remember to suck it up, be strong and act appropriately.

So there ya go. Jill’s thoughts for the day. Keep on truckin.

-j-

10 Things We Do Around Christmas Time More Than The Rest Of The Year…

1. Eat more dessert. Way more.

2. Play more board games with friends and family.

3. Read by the fire and maybe even doze off.

4. Think about God, faith, spiritual things in a more in depth way.

5. Drink more wine.

6. Go to more movies.

7. See more kindness all around.

8. Send and receive more group text messages and/or emails.

9. Go to bed at an embarrassingly early hour.

10. Enjoy the people you don’t get to see enough.

Merry Christmas everyone!

We hope today was a wonderful day for each of you and that all of you felt loved! Here is a little story from Kate’s Christmas day:

So recently my dad has gotten really into playing ping pong aka table tennis. He is actually really good but I continually am poking fun at his intensity regarding his love for this game. So, as a fun little Christmas gift I got my dad this mini ping pong set. You are supposed to set it up on a table…looks something like this:

He thought it was hysterical! But one of the pieces was missing for the net so we couldn’t set it up…FAIL. But that didn’t stop us…my dad being the handy man he is found some wood and set it up across the table…creating a faux net if you will. So we played mini-ghetto-table tennis…and it was SO MUCH FUN. We laughed and laughed…the paddles we tiny and hard to control but it was good times for sure. Here are some pics…

My dad and the mini-ping-pong-paddle.

This is where I was talking to the ball asking it very nicely not to go off the table when I hit it And you have a nice view of the ghetto “net.”

Now you get it…tiny table, tiny paddles = me doubled over in laughter

I highly recommend this gift….super great memories were made.

Merry Christmas.

Love,

-jillandkate-

Actually…this should be titled “Tis The Night Before Christmas…” but, it is what it is.

So this will be short because well, it’s Christmas Eve and there’s a lot more to be excited about than a j&k blog…haha! But…we recently saw this bumper sticker in Nashville and had to take a picture because we didn’t know if it was serious or a joke. (In case you can’t read it, it says “I <3 My Grandog.”)

We discussed it for a while and figured it must be a joke. We laughed.

And then alas…..today I was in Target and I heard a lady tell the clerk that her “GRANDOG” was coming to town for Christmas so she needed to buy treats. For. Real. So this is a thing??? This is a thing. And so our question is answered.

No comment.

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!! To you and yours! And your Grandogs if you have any!

-j&k-

Do you have one Christmas song that always gets you in the spirit? Mine is “Come On Ring Those Bells” by Evie. Every year, ever since I can remember, my mom puts on the Evie Christmas tape at Christmas time…YES, i said TAPE…as in cassette tape. Remember those? They look like this:

For some reason this particular song sticks out in my memory from when I was a kid. I would prance around the house putting up decorations or wrapping gifts and sing this song out loud and proud. My brother would get really annoyed at me (what else are little sisters for?) and I would just keep on singing.

I look forward to hearing that song every Christmas, and luckily the cassette is still in tact! After all these years, Evie and I still belt it out at our house around Christmas.

Thanks to the wonder that is YouTube, I found a little video with this song. I have to admit though, it’s not quite the same as flipping that cassette over and pressing Play. Take a listen, though, and get in the spirit with me. Two more days, friends!

-jill-

Tonight we gathered at a friend’s house for a little holiday cheer & a little bit of birthday action for Kate. We sang Christmas carols, ate cupcakes, cookies…drank some wine. It was fun, fun, fun. It’s always fun to gather at holiday parties and chat with people that you haven’t seen in awhile. Catch up. Good times.

Yay for holiday parties.

-j&k-

Since we are not at home we cannot decorate our homes….BUT…our bus is our home right now, sooooo…Holiday cheer tour bus style!

Also, we all got matching Christmas pajamas. Everyone on our bus has a pair and don’t you think for a second that we didn’t all rock them last night on the ride from Minneapolis! Get in the Christmas spirit wherever you may be! 20 days, people…20 days!! Here we are in our matching PJ’s:

Until tomorrow…

-j&k-

Kate here…

So, I had an interesting/quite entertaining experience a while ago…and I thought I’d share it with all of you.

Right before Christmas, I went to a local spa in Nashville because my friend had gotten me a gift certificate for my birthday. I thought it would be a perfect way to relax after all of the Christmas shopping madness and a good way to prepare for the holiday festivities. I arrived early and the lady who showed me the women’s locker room facilities said, “We have a steam room right through these doors…since you’re early, that would be a great way to relax before your massage.” I thought it was a great idea–you know–loosen up before a nice massage.

So, I head into the steam room (wearing only a towel mind you) and it’s empty when I arrive. It’s not very big, but I settle onto the bench, lean back and start to enjoy the steam. Fast forward about three minutes, the door swings open and there HE is. Yes, that’s right, a MAN. And for the record–a very young, attractive man–who is also wearing only a towel. We make eye contact and I momentarily freak because I’m pretty sure I had gotten a little too comfortable and that my towel was not covering..well…you know. Anyhow. He takes one step in, and says awkwardly, “I’ve never been in a co-ed steam room.” I am surely blushing at this point–whether from the steam or sheer embarassment I am not sure–and I say something awkward and silly like “Uh..heh..Yeah.”

So there I am. Our knees only about 3 feet apart…just sitting there. Relaxation out the window. My mind was racing. Do I get up and leave right away? No, I can’t do that. It would totally look like I was leaving because he had come in. I wanted to look like I was totally with the times and not feeling uncomfortable that I was half naked sitting across from a stranger. Maybe this was the new thing. All I kept thinking was “Jeez lady, on the tour you managed to tell me all about the new lockers that had been installed and yet failed to mention that it’s a CO-ED steam room? Awesome.” So I close my eyes and try and block him out. With my eyes closed I then start thinking about telling my friends this story. And I start to laugh. My friends were going to find this hysterically entertaining. Yup, I try and hide my smile but the thought of re-telling my experience to my friends just made me laugh.

I try and regain my composure. I sit there for a little longer and realize I could gracefully get up and leave without it being painfully obvious that I was leaving because of him. We say a few words to each other as I leave, again something awkward, and I jet back to the changing area.

So, there you have it. That’s my story. Next time you enter a steam room, make sure it’s not co-ed…cause let’s just face it…it’s uncomfortable.

And, if by chance you are reading this and you are the fine specimen of man that was in the steam room with me…two words…call me. We clearly have already crossed the uncomfortable-get-to-know-you-stage. Haha.

Love,

kate

One of my (kate’s) favorite parts of Christmas morning is rocking some festive holiday PJ’s. Yup. True story. Every year I get a new pair and whip them out for Christmas. This year I’m wearing a bright red adult onesie complete with the footsie part and all…so comfy…I might just start wearing them all year round. Here is a pic of the footsie part:

Man, is it just me or is “footsie” really fun to say? Haha. Hope everyone is feeling loved this Christmas day. xoxo -k & j