I'm so happy today! What beautiful, spring-like weather we've been having recently. The changing of the seasons (even tho it's really the dead of winter) makes me feel so optimistic about life. I love where I am right now!
We just launched our new www.jandkay.com website, so you'll have to check that out!! It's not fully finished, but it's usable; I'll be working on it more and more, so if you have suggestions, comment and let me know.
J and I had a great time at the Recoup Lounge in NYC last night, and are looking forward to our more-local gigs coming up. Join us Tuesday night at the Mason Jar for Toxic Tuesday, hosted by Dylan Wyka! It starts at 9pm but we probably won't be on until 10 or 11. And save March 17th for our fantastic event at the Architekt in Butler NJ! More details on that coming soon.
- Kay
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
I Only Work In Peace
I only work in peace. That’s a line from one of our most popular songs, “I Feel.” “I step out, walk the tight rope steadily, I only work in peace, let me, let me be myself.” Sometimes, I feel like it's a waste of time to journal, to "insplore," as J would say. Sometimes I don't want to take time out to spend with God or evaluate my life. But when I don't, my life essentially falls apart; what's the use of saving time not journalling when I'm incapable of being at peace without it? I only work in peace. This morning, against my better judgment, I wanted to just jump into work without thinking, praying, and planning my day… but it didn’t turn out so well.
Later, J and I were talking about some hard decisions we've had to make recently. About a month ago, I quit my job because I knew deep inside it was what I needed to do (and I'm so glad I listened to and followed God's voice in that!). J's had to make some similar decisions, and here are some truths that we realized about our lives in the process:
It's good to empathize and feel what other people do, but I can go beyond and know I don’t need to let it affect me when it shouldn’t. I am strong enough not to feel what other people feel, at least not to let it get me down.
I am above all attempts of others to manipulate my emotions.
I do not answer to man, but God
I obey God rather than men
I am not a slave. I am a Free Man!
I am free to work in peace
The best thing I can do for others is be the best J/Kay I can be. That may mean making choices other people won't understand, but it will be the BEST for them in the long run.
My decisions are paving the way to freedom for others, too. People around me will see how I live and desire that freedom from caring about what others think, too.
No living for the weekend! Life is too short. All time is precious. We hear God about every moment of our lives, because each one is precious.
Kids understand how precious every second is; adults often don't. Adults say, "I'll just put up with it for a little bit and then I can go back to what I think I'm supposed to be doing." Not true. We should ALWAYS be doing 100% what God wants us to be doing. It may be serving others; it may be taking care of ourselves, but God has a plan for each moment.
Planning is the first step to accomplishing things. Think time, soak time, planning time, are all priorities! Don't neglect them.
Peace and joy are the end for us, as well as a part of the process. Others work FOR peace and joy; we work OUT OF peace and joy.
We are rich kids; we are God's kids! We inherit joy. We inherit peace. It is ours, we have an abundance, and we work out of it.
Rich and successful people don't carry the emotional weight of others.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
CSS Analogy: Overwriting
I've been learning a lot about computer coding recently since I've been making our new J & Kay website from scratch. There are all different kinds of computer "languages" I've been learning: there's HTML, which everything is made out of, and CSS, which adds formatting to all the basic HTML code.
As I was working yesterday, I drew an analogy from all this web design coding:
CSS coding is always read from top to bottom. You might have a CSS rule that says background:white on the top, but you might have another rule closer to the bottom that says background:grey. Since it's read from top to bottom, the second rule overwrites the first rule, and the background appears grey. The white is covered up.
Sometimes my feelings are like CSS coding. My true feelings can be overwritten by other feelings. For instance, I would call myself a sincere person. But when I was in high school, even though I was sincere and desired to be authentic, I felt very self-conscious of myself and often wouldn't let others know how I really felt because I didn't want to draw attention to myself. My desire for authenticity was "overwritten" by my politeness & insecurity.
It's important to delete unnecessary CSS coding so that your website will look exactly how you want it to look. In the same way, I want to make sure that my true feelings are showing through and aren't being hidden or "overwritten" by fears or any negative emotions.
Be sure to stop by jandkay.com soon to check out my progress! Until then, be real, and stay free of unnecessary coding! ;-)
- Kay
As I was working yesterday, I drew an analogy from all this web design coding:
CSS coding is always read from top to bottom. You might have a CSS rule that says background:white on the top, but you might have another rule closer to the bottom that says background:grey. Since it's read from top to bottom, the second rule overwrites the first rule, and the background appears grey. The white is covered up.
Sometimes my feelings are like CSS coding. My true feelings can be overwritten by other feelings. For instance, I would call myself a sincere person. But when I was in high school, even though I was sincere and desired to be authentic, I felt very self-conscious of myself and often wouldn't let others know how I really felt because I didn't want to draw attention to myself. My desire for authenticity was "overwritten" by my politeness & insecurity.
It's important to delete unnecessary CSS coding so that your website will look exactly how you want it to look. In the same way, I want to make sure that my true feelings are showing through and aren't being hidden or "overwritten" by fears or any negative emotions.
Be sure to stop by jandkay.com soon to check out my progress! Until then, be real, and stay free of unnecessary coding! ;-)
- Kay
Snowboarding!
J and I went snowboarding last Saturday. It was my first time ever! We've been wanting to do this for a while, and his dad, Jack, bought us season passes so we could! It was super generous of him. I've been skiing once before and have always heard that "skiing is easy to learn, hard to master; snowboarding is hard to learn, easier to master." Or something like that. :) I borrowed a board for my first day - we didn't realize it at first, but it had goofy bindings (right foot forward), and I ride left foot forward, but we would make it work.
I had never been on a bunny slope before (a practice, baby hill); when I went skiing, I went straight to a green circle. There are 3 types of slopes, a green circle (easy), a blue square (medium), and a black diamond (hard). There are even double black diamonds for super steep slopes, but those are the basics for all of you non-boarders/non-skiers out there.
So on Saturday, J, Jack, and I took a lift up to the top of the easiest green circle. I told myself I didn't feel nervous, but I think my subconscious actually did. I was also excited, tho; I wanted to get the first day over with so I could get over that hard "beginning" part and get to the fun enjoyment of the sport! I just wanted to make it through the first day.
I put my boots into the bindings of my board and felt the restraint of no longer having two separate legs at my disposal. I tried to stand up and succeeded after some effort. Immediately I started sliding on the ice toward the grassy edge near a little shack. How was I supposed to steer this thing?? I kept asking J to explain how it all worked - I SO have to understand how everything works, the physics of it all, to have it make sense in my mind. J wasn't much help, tho; he kind of just stared at me, "just get up and do it." I realized I was going to have to learn mostly on my own without instruction. J had only been snowboarding 5 or 6 times in his life and the last time was a year or two ago, so he was kinda relearning with me. BUT, he'd lived his whole life skiing! Yeah, I was great at skiing my first time, but what came intuitively for him didn't necessarily for me.
J kept asking me to just get closer to the crest of the hill - all I needed was a little more speed. We were just off the lift were there was only a slight incline. But I felt that if I couldn't steer or balance without going into the side here, I was NOT ready to go to the crest of the real slope! I had to get the feel of it first - I am intuitive and need experience feeling things out, if he couldn't explain them to me.
I kept trying and trying and practicing in my little "gutter" of the slope, and J was very patient with me. I remember finally just laying on my back in the snow, my muscles tired and almost paralyzed from the anxiety that I just wasn't getting this. A kind skier stopped by asking, "Is everything OK?" We assured him we were fine - I realized it looked like I had just taken a fall! Whoops, lol. Jack came back around on his second run and suggested we ride back down the lift and start at the bunny slope. I knew that was exactly what I needed. In the past, it would have hurt my pride to give up, but I've grown enough now to know that I need to do what I need to do. (I was also getting kinda light-headed from not eating enough, which is a bad sign for me.)
So we rode back down the lift, J & I. I didn't want to disappoint him, but he was fine with it. We talked it through - we talk everything through, get all the emotions out, which is something I value very much in our relationship. We went to the lodge and had a snack with his dad, resting a bit. I felt SO much better. My emotions are so affected by not having enough food! I also just needed to know I was safe and that everything would be ok. I knew that after I got used to the bunny slope, it would be.
So J and I hit the bunny slope. It was so much better! It wasn't as slick and icy as the crest of the hill, and it was just steep enough to give me enough speed to learn on. I took to it right away! I didn't fall much... unless other clueless beginners got it my way! I was better than most of them, tho, which made me happy. And J was having fun now, too!
It was there that I realized that my issue with steering was due to having goofy bindings even though I was riding regular! I had J try my board, and he noticed the difference right away. You're supposed to have your front foot at an angle and your back foot straight across the board, but mine were opposite - front foot straight and back foot angled. That could be an issue!
But really, I think my biggest issue was debilitating fear. When I felt like I couldn't do it at the top of the green slope, I couldn't; no matter how much I tried to convince myself, I couldn't overcome that emotion. I'm learning that sometimes, you have to give yourself some slack. Yeah, you can do anything if you believe it enough. But don't try to work up belief when it isn't there yet. I can't try to coerce myself into believing something. I need to spend time with God and let Him speak the truth to my heart. Once He assures me that "I am safe" and that "I can do it," and I really, truly believe those things, so much that they because part of my very nature, then I have gained true confidence.
Sometimes, you have to push yourself to go farther than you think you can - just do it. Other times, it's wise to listen to your feelings and realize you are in over your head. When you spend time learning from Jesus, you develop a level of trust with Him. That's faith. When you know you can hear Him, and you know you can trust Him, then you know beyond know beyond know that what He says will happen. That's faith. And faith like that can move mountains.
Faith isn't just believing in your head when your feelings disagree. Faith isn't just working up emotion to feel like something will happen when there's no reality to it. Faith is having trial-and-error experiences with God that give you a foundation of trust in both your head and your heart.
Jesus said to him, “If you can believe,[a] all things are possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:23
I'm gonna kill those slopes next time - with my new, non-goofy board!! :)
- Kay
I had never been on a bunny slope before (a practice, baby hill); when I went skiing, I went straight to a green circle. There are 3 types of slopes, a green circle (easy), a blue square (medium), and a black diamond (hard). There are even double black diamonds for super steep slopes, but those are the basics for all of you non-boarders/non-skiers out there.
So on Saturday, J, Jack, and I took a lift up to the top of the easiest green circle. I told myself I didn't feel nervous, but I think my subconscious actually did. I was also excited, tho; I wanted to get the first day over with so I could get over that hard "beginning" part and get to the fun enjoyment of the sport! I just wanted to make it through the first day.
I put my boots into the bindings of my board and felt the restraint of no longer having two separate legs at my disposal. I tried to stand up and succeeded after some effort. Immediately I started sliding on the ice toward the grassy edge near a little shack. How was I supposed to steer this thing?? I kept asking J to explain how it all worked - I SO have to understand how everything works, the physics of it all, to have it make sense in my mind. J wasn't much help, tho; he kind of just stared at me, "just get up and do it." I realized I was going to have to learn mostly on my own without instruction. J had only been snowboarding 5 or 6 times in his life and the last time was a year or two ago, so he was kinda relearning with me. BUT, he'd lived his whole life skiing! Yeah, I was great at skiing my first time, but what came intuitively for him didn't necessarily for me.
J kept asking me to just get closer to the crest of the hill - all I needed was a little more speed. We were just off the lift were there was only a slight incline. But I felt that if I couldn't steer or balance without going into the side here, I was NOT ready to go to the crest of the real slope! I had to get the feel of it first - I am intuitive and need experience feeling things out, if he couldn't explain them to me.
I kept trying and trying and practicing in my little "gutter" of the slope, and J was very patient with me. I remember finally just laying on my back in the snow, my muscles tired and almost paralyzed from the anxiety that I just wasn't getting this. A kind skier stopped by asking, "Is everything OK?" We assured him we were fine - I realized it looked like I had just taken a fall! Whoops, lol. Jack came back around on his second run and suggested we ride back down the lift and start at the bunny slope. I knew that was exactly what I needed. In the past, it would have hurt my pride to give up, but I've grown enough now to know that I need to do what I need to do. (I was also getting kinda light-headed from not eating enough, which is a bad sign for me.)
So we rode back down the lift, J & I. I didn't want to disappoint him, but he was fine with it. We talked it through - we talk everything through, get all the emotions out, which is something I value very much in our relationship. We went to the lodge and had a snack with his dad, resting a bit. I felt SO much better. My emotions are so affected by not having enough food! I also just needed to know I was safe and that everything would be ok. I knew that after I got used to the bunny slope, it would be.
So J and I hit the bunny slope. It was so much better! It wasn't as slick and icy as the crest of the hill, and it was just steep enough to give me enough speed to learn on. I took to it right away! I didn't fall much... unless other clueless beginners got it my way! I was better than most of them, tho, which made me happy. And J was having fun now, too!
It was there that I realized that my issue with steering was due to having goofy bindings even though I was riding regular! I had J try my board, and he noticed the difference right away. You're supposed to have your front foot at an angle and your back foot straight across the board, but mine were opposite - front foot straight and back foot angled. That could be an issue!
But really, I think my biggest issue was debilitating fear. When I felt like I couldn't do it at the top of the green slope, I couldn't; no matter how much I tried to convince myself, I couldn't overcome that emotion. I'm learning that sometimes, you have to give yourself some slack. Yeah, you can do anything if you believe it enough. But don't try to work up belief when it isn't there yet. I can't try to coerce myself into believing something. I need to spend time with God and let Him speak the truth to my heart. Once He assures me that "I am safe" and that "I can do it," and I really, truly believe those things, so much that they because part of my very nature, then I have gained true confidence.
Sometimes, you have to push yourself to go farther than you think you can - just do it. Other times, it's wise to listen to your feelings and realize you are in over your head. When you spend time learning from Jesus, you develop a level of trust with Him. That's faith. When you know you can hear Him, and you know you can trust Him, then you know beyond know beyond know that what He says will happen. That's faith. And faith like that can move mountains.
Faith isn't just believing in your head when your feelings disagree. Faith isn't just working up emotion to feel like something will happen when there's no reality to it. Faith is having trial-and-error experiences with God that give you a foundation of trust in both your head and your heart.
Jesus said to him, “If you can believe,[a] all things are possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:23
I'm gonna kill those slopes next time - with my new, non-goofy board!! :)
- Kay
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Life's Ups and Downs
Hi all!
Sorry it's been so long since our last post! It's been super busy this week. We've been working on our new JandKay.com website - sorry, all we have so far is a "coming soon" page but we should have it up and ready in the next couple weeks. We're making it on our own - quite a feat, I'm learning! I get to learn all about HTML and CSS and all that fun coding stuff. It's been quite the learning experience, and I'm finding out I really have a knack for web design.
More big news is that we had our Live Recording last Friday at Quad Lakeside Studios! It was VERY exciting, such an awesome experience, and everyone said they had a wonderful time. We got some great recordings of some of our best songs. J will be mixing them for the next couple weeks and then we will release our first big CD!! We will also have mp3s available online, so keep an eye out for both of those.
My last headline for the night is that I went snowboarding for the first time yesterday! I may do a whole post on my experience with that and some analogies I learned, but for now, I'll just say I can't wait to go again. :) As soon as we finished I bought my own board (I had been borrowing a friend's), so that says something! BUT the day was not without its ups and downs... haha, yeah, I know, snowboarding, ups and downs... Ok, we're done with that :-P
Until next time!
- Kay
Sorry it's been so long since our last post! It's been super busy this week. We've been working on our new JandKay.com website - sorry, all we have so far is a "coming soon" page but we should have it up and ready in the next couple weeks. We're making it on our own - quite a feat, I'm learning! I get to learn all about HTML and CSS and all that fun coding stuff. It's been quite the learning experience, and I'm finding out I really have a knack for web design.
More big news is that we had our Live Recording last Friday at Quad Lakeside Studios! It was VERY exciting, such an awesome experience, and everyone said they had a wonderful time. We got some great recordings of some of our best songs. J will be mixing them for the next couple weeks and then we will release our first big CD!! We will also have mp3s available online, so keep an eye out for both of those.
My last headline for the night is that I went snowboarding for the first time yesterday! I may do a whole post on my experience with that and some analogies I learned, but for now, I'll just say I can't wait to go again. :) As soon as we finished I bought my own board (I had been borrowing a friend's), so that says something! BUT the day was not without its ups and downs... haha, yeah, I know, snowboarding, ups and downs... Ok, we're done with that :-P
Until next time!
- Kay
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
The Importance of YouTube Friends
Does any of you have a YouTube Channel? (That was correct grammar, btw: "Does any of you." "Any" is singular, short for "any one," and "does" is the singular verb conjugation. So weird!) Anyone confused about the Friends vs. Subscribers issue? I made a tutorial video about how to send videos to Friends on YouTube, and why you want "Friends" on YouTube in the first place.
For those of you new to YouTube, let me explain. The way you can start posting videos in YouTube is by creating a YouTube channel. J & Kay's YouTube channel is JandKay29 (trivia fact: the "2" & "9" stand for the day J first asked me out, Feb. 9, 2011! ;-)
After creating a channel, you can put whatever videos you want on there... like TV shows on your very own television channel! Some YouTube channel owners want to get their channel out there to be seen by the general public, and others just want to put up a video or two so only their friends can watch.
There are two ways of networking with other YouTubers: Friends & Subscribers. If you subscribe to a YouTube channel, you be notified on your homepage when that channel has uploaded a new video for you to view. When you are "friends" with a channel... well, what does that mean?? Is it like having a facebook friend?
We were really confused about this ourselves, so we decided to do the research and answer the question for other confused YouTubers as well! We found 3 reasons YouTube friends are important... check out my video to find them out! Kay's YouTube Friends Video
I'll list the summary here as well:
- Kay
JandKay.com
For those of you new to YouTube, let me explain. The way you can start posting videos in YouTube is by creating a YouTube channel. J & Kay's YouTube channel is JandKay29 (trivia fact: the "2" & "9" stand for the day J first asked me out, Feb. 9, 2011! ;-)
After creating a channel, you can put whatever videos you want on there... like TV shows on your very own television channel! Some YouTube channel owners want to get their channel out there to be seen by the general public, and others just want to put up a video or two so only their friends can watch.
There are two ways of networking with other YouTubers: Friends & Subscribers. If you subscribe to a YouTube channel, you be notified on your homepage when that channel has uploaded a new video for you to view. When you are "friends" with a channel... well, what does that mean?? Is it like having a facebook friend?
We were really confused about this ourselves, so we decided to do the research and answer the question for other confused YouTubers as well! We found 3 reasons YouTube friends are important... check out my video to find them out! Kay's YouTube Friends Video
I'll list the summary here as well:
- Privacy Settings
- Sending Private Videos
- Signing up for the YouTube Partner Program for ad revenue
- Kay
JandKay.com
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