Official Website of JillandKate

1. Peanut Brittle. What exactly is it? It’s addicting, but kind of gross and you only ever hear about it around Christmas. Okay, fine, I really like it. But I also kind of hate it.

2. Went for a run today. I really appreciate the cars who go out and AROUND when you are running. Especially on icy/slushy streets. Leaves a little room for error on either end. It’s the little things.

3. Went to see a high school girls basketball game today and I wanted nothing more than to get back out on the court. Did you know I played basketball in college? I did. I miss it. But I’m a little past my baller prime now. Guess I will stick to watching.

4. Hot Pepper Jelly. Another seasonal food that is majorly overlooked the rest of the year. I’m committing to breaking that out more frequently in 2014. Mark my words.

5. Heads Up. I have played this game with my family so much over this holiday that we have actually gone through all of the clues in certain categories. I actually made my own category so that we would have more options. Perhaps we have addictive personalities. We don’t care. Cause we can’t stop. And we won’t stop. This game has captured our hearts and minds.

That’s it, folks. Take it or leave it. Until tomorrow, be good.

-jill

We must admit that we didn’t see the live broadcast of The Sound Of Music the other night on NBC. We actually were out seeing this KICK-A band called the Shadowboxers that night (seriously, really good) and so we missed it. Bummer.

However, we have both had the whole entire soundtrack in our heads for weeks because let’s face it:

1) It’s got unbelievably amazing songs.

2) They advertised that thing so well that you would have had to be living under a rock to not hear about it every single day.

So as we’ve been singing our little hearts out to all the great Sound of Music tunes, I (Jill) realized that there was a lyric that I always just made up when it got to this part because I had no idea what they said. Now, I am sort of crazy about this movie, so I’m a little embarrassed that I don’t know it by heart.

It’s the song “How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria.” So, I just looked up the line I always miss and realized that the reason I miss it is because IT’S RIDICULOUS:

“How do you find a word that means Maria? A flibbertijibbet! A will-o’-the wisp! A clown!”

Haha…..WHAT?

Well that was random, but anyway, there you have it. Oh and by the way, The Sound Of Music is my favorite movie OF ALL TIME. In another life I was a Von Trapp kid. No, scrap that. I WAS MARIA. (In other words, I was a flibbertijibbet, a will-o-the wisp, a clown.)

Okay I’m done now.

So long.

Farewell.

Auf Wiedersehen.

Goodnight.

Okay really I’m done.

-j (and k)

Every once in a while I need to be reminded to calm down. I lose perspective. I think about ME too much and get all caught up in things that don’t matter. There’s so much going on that I don’t stop and reflect at all. I just go, go, go. So I need to tell myself….or be told, to do this:

TAKE A CHILL PILL, JiLL.

I genuinely miss that phrase. I used to wear it out in Junior High. I. Wore. It. Out. Ah, the good old days.

I don’t know about you, but I can start getting worked up and stressed out and act all crazy. Ain’t nobody got time for that. Chill. Sit down. Close your eyes. Take a minute.

Here are the top 5 chill pill options:

1. Find total silence and sit in it. 

Oh man, this is hard. Hard to find and also hard to actually do once you do find it. But it’s amazing how my mind settles down once I find that silence and accept it. Totally worth it.

2. Put on some relaxing, soothing tunes. 

My go-to for this scenario is Rosie Thomas. Or this time of year, Amy Grant’s Christmas album.

3. Bake.

This is therapeutic for me. I usually make cookies. Sometimes cupcakes. Sometimes I’ll try out a new Pinterest recipe that looks delicious or fun. And the bonus to this one is that you also get to eat whatever you bake. Win, win.

4. Read a book. 

I am reading “Daring Greatly” by Brene Brown right now. It’s not what you would call LIGHT reading, but it’s all about vulnerability…something I sometimes struggle with…and I’m learning a lot. It’s a good book for taking some time to reflect.

5. Go for a drive on quiet back roads.

My car is my safe, happy place. Something about the open road, being alone, and having the ability to just go somewhere…even if there’s really nowhere to go. I love to drive. It stabilizes my emotions.

There ya go….a few things I like to do when I need to calm down.

So what did you learn today? Advice from Jill: Take A Chill Pill.

Much love.

-j

Jill here.

I love to laugh. Like, a lot. It’s a little cliché to say that it’s the best medicine, but I actually think it’s the truth. Laughing always makes me feel better.

So, I often find myself browsing through the Pinterest Humor  section for hours and hours short periods of time looking for things that will make me laugh. There’s some HILARIOUS stuff on there, my friends. Well, at least I find it hilarious…some might say I have an odd sense of humor. I thought I would share a few of my favorites.

To follow my Pinterest account, go here. (Oh and you can follow Kate’s and our JillandKate boards too.) Share with me some stuff that you find funny too. Let’s laugh together.

-j

The other day we were talking about something or other and somehow the topic of seahorses came up…

I was talking about a school field trip as a kid and something about seeing a dead sea horse in a jar & that you could make a wish on them because they weren’t real…

Kate was all “A’hem…whaaaaaaaat? No, Jill, No. Unicorns aren’t real. Seahorses are real.”

I had no idea! Someone told me as a kid that they were fake and for 20-some years, I’ve believed that. Wow.

It’s like the How I Met Your Mother episode where Barney never learned how to use a screwdriver…and Ted never learned how to pronounce “chameleon” and he kept saying “Cha-Ma-Lee-On…”

I guess it’s true that everyone has something they missed out on learning earlier in life. I mean, there’s a lot of information out there, folks! You can’t know it all. (I am totally trying to justify how stupid I feel right now…haha.)

Is there something you realized as an adult that you never learned as a child…and maybe you should have learned much earlier?

For now, I’m going to go celebrate the fact that seahorses are real. And hey, you never know…maybe unicorns are too!? (Jk, jk. Or am I?)