Hi -

This is Jill Young's husband Brad.

It is with a heavy heart that I share news of Jill's passing.

Jill passed away on Wed. July 12th after a long and courageous battle with brain cancer.

We take great comfort that she leaves behind so much love that she shared, two wonderful daughters and adoring family and friends.

She also left a lot of herself right here in her blog. She loved sharing with so many in her

If you get a chance, please check some older posts out.

Below is her obituary:

Jill Patricia (Witterschein) Young
Age: 52 • Charlotte, Vermont

Jill Patricia Young, 52, of Charlotte, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her loving family on Wednesday, July 12 at the McClure-Miller Respite House after a courageous battle with brain cancer.

Jill was born on May 12, 1965 in Jersey City, NJ, daughter of Bill and Kathy Witterschein of West Chester, Pennsylvania and The Villages, Florida. She married Brad Young of Middlebury, VT on July 18, 1998 and raised two beautiful girls, Meg and Catherine Young, in Rumson, NJ and most recently Charlotte, VT.

Jill is survived by her parents Bill and Kathy, daughters Meg and Catherine, sisters Maura Hulsey and Amy Kluckhuhn and their spouses Tom Hulsey and Robbie Kluckhuhn. Jill also leaves her husband, Brad, and brother and sister-in-law Barry Young and Rhonda Forcier, as well as many aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews who she loved dearly. 

                                                                                                                                             

Jill graduated from East High School in West Chester, PA and Temple University with a Communications degree. Jill used her quick wit and incredible humor to perform improv and landed several acting and modeling jobs.  Jill worked for Radio City Productions and helped organize the Christmas Spectacular, the dedication of Arthur Ashe Stadium and anything that brought her closer to entertainment. She also worked for the American Red Cross overseeing blood drives at the Jersey Shore. 

Jill was proudest in her roles of mother, daughter, sister, niece, friend and aunt.  As a mother, Jill imparted confidence, creativity and humor into her daughters’ lives. Jill was very involved in the kids’ plays costuming, sports, Halloween parades, concerts, crafts and creative endeavors that supported her girls.  As a sister, daughter, niece and aunt, Jill cherished the time she spent with her family and traveled frequently from her home in New Jersey to Vermont and Maryland.  Her presence brightened and enlivened any gathering.  She was unbelievably proud and pleased to celebrate holidays and the accomplishments of her nieces and nephews -Jake, Madeline, Grace, Brian, Craig, Kyle, Greta, Charlie, Zach, Sophie, Drew, Jackson and Kennedy. She was the leader of the fun parade.

As a friend, Jill was humorous and loyal. Many of her friendships dated back well into childhood.  She loved her neighbors and loved hanging with the kids in her Rumson neighborhood.  She was engaging and kind – a special combination.

She loved the beach and would share this love with her family and friends with gathering at the Sands Beach club.  She loved movies, music and pop culture, but was equally at home exploring her spirituality.

To say Jill was a fan of tennis would be an understatement.  She was a fanatic.  She loved being on the court and in the stands – either as a team captain, member or spectator. She was passionate to the point of exuberance. She made great friends through tennis both in New Jersey and Maryland.

Jill had a great creative outlet in writing that shared her humor and experiences. She shared her observations in her blog, Caffeine Court.  This is a gift of memories that she has shared with her family and friends.  It can be found at caffeinecourt.blogspot.com .  

A Memorial Service celebrating Jill’s life will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 22 at Mead Memorial Chapel on the campus of Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT.  In lieu of flowers, friends may make donations to: Margaret and Catherine Young at Jill Young Memorial Fund c/o Rhonda Forcier, 19 Loubier Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452. These donations will be thoughtfully used for the girls to pursue their passions and educational pursuits as Jill would wish. 

Welcome

Once upon a time, not so long ago, I had a blog.

Technically, I still have one.

Don't be frightened away by my lack of recent posts.

Yes, I have TEMPORARILY lost interest, but at one time I was very interested in posting, and
and there are some fun posts in my archives.

If you're here, don't leave yet.

Take a look around, take a stoll down memory lane.

As the Terminator said, "I'll be back!"

In the meantime, consider my blog to be an old sitcom in syndication.

Sit back, grab a Diet Coke and a bag of chips and enjoy the reruns.

It's cheaper than HBO, and way more fun. (Okay, maybe not, but humor me)

Oh Wayne, I've missed you so!

Like most of us, there are moments in life when I feel a little stressed. I know I'm really lucky to have two wonderful daughters and a very busy life, but sometimes the happiest of times require double time effort. Around the holidays I almost reached a breaking point. There was a TON of pressure I was being pulled in so many directions, parties, travel, traffic, and the usual chaos, times a thousand.

One of the biggest stresses for me, was trying make sure everyone was happy, which we all know, is impossible.

It seems that, as much as I tried to please everyone, inevitably someone was left feeling neglected, which always makes me feel crappy. (Is there a therapist in the blogging audience?)


In all the craziness, I made some decisions.

In addition to cutting down on my junk food and caffeine consumption, drastically,
I made an effort to listen to more music and less talk and news radio. Unfortunately the news reports while informative, can really stress me out. Have you ever heard the term, "Ignorance is bliss?"


Anyway, The other day, as I listened to the news, I decided to tune it out and crank up some tunes. as I reached for a CD, I looked down and there he was, smiling up at me from the side door pocket of my minivan, was the man. My man. Dr. Wayne Dyer.

To be continued..

Smelly Jelly Belly

I'm going to Florida tomorrow and I was at Marshall's looking for cute sneakers to wear with capris to Epcot. (Easier said than done.)

As I approached the checkout I noticed a shelf full of Jelly Belly Sugar-Free jelly beans. It was one day post detox so I decided to give myself a treat.




Then I noticed the warning label:


Start with 8 beans or less??? After a major detox?? No way Jose. I downed the entire bag.

Then I looked at the package. 35 beans have 8 GRAMS OF FIBER!

Uh-oh.



Here are the ingredients:

Malitol, Malitol Syrup, Polydextrose, Modified Food Starch, Contains 2% or Less of the Following: Sucralose, Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Color Added, Red 40, Yellow 5 & 6, Red 40 Lake, Blue 2 Lake, Yellow 5 & 6 Lake, Blue 1, Tapioca Dextrin, Beeswax, Carnauba Wax, Confectioner's Glaze, Salt.

Look up Maltitol. Actally don't bother, I'll save you some time.

Here's a little tidbit that I found...

"Due to its slow absorption, excessive consumption of Maltitol can have a laxative effect and produce intestinal gas, bloating, and diarrhea. It is very easy for food producers to use it in vast quantities, due to its similarity to sugar, so consumers often end up ingesting far more than they could most other sugar alcohols. This means that maltitol is particularly associated with gastrointestinal upset."

I don't want to lose the few readers I have left with all the gory details, but let's just say, a large tablespoon of flaxseed followed by a chaser of sugar-free Jelly Bells is an UGLY combination. We're talking Depends ugly. It's a bad scene. TRUST ME.

Okay, let's change the subject....

I'm fleeing freezing cold Jersey tomorrow to head to The Sunshine State for a spell.

I will catch y'all when I return next week.

In the meantime, step away from the Jelly Bellys.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

The post detox energy burst....

Look at me!!! Three postings in one day! Where did all this energy come from?! You would think that with a blog named Caffeine Court, that it came from consuming large quantities of Diet Coke and Lattes. That IS what you thought isn't it? Well, you're WRONG!!!

It actually came from CUTTING DOWN my caffeine intake.

A very fit friend of mine suggested I try a detox.

When she first told me about it, I was skeptical. If sounded like a temporary fix. Too gimmicky. But then I looked at my energetic, thin, youthful looking pal and I was sold.

Here is the plan she gave me:

Day 1: Miracle Juice-Combine 8 oz. of all-natural cranberry juice with 56 oz. of water in a pot. Bring to a light boil.
Place 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/4 tsp. each ginger and nutmeg in a tea ball and steep in the liquid for 15 min.
Allow to cool, then stir in 3/4 cup fresh OJ, 1/4 cup lemon juice, and SteviaPlus natural sweetener to taste. (I did not add sweetener, it was pretty sour but still do-able).

The Plan: Upon waking, stir 2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed into 1 Cup Miracle Juice and drink. One hour later, drink 8 oz. water. Every hour for the next 12 hours, alternate drinking a glass of juice (no flax in it) with a glass of water. Before bed, mix another 2 Tbsp. ground flax in the final cup of juice and enjoy.

This makes one day's worth of the juice.

Day 2 and 3:

Breakfast: Eggs (can be eaten with veggies)
Mid Morning Snack: Yogurt with fresh fruit (I used Dannon Activa)
Lunch: Beets and Artichokes (can be eaten with salad and 6oz. lean protein)
Mid Afternoon Snack: Baked Apple with Cinnamon
Dinner: Broccoli and Cauliflower (can be eaten with small portion lean protein)

My husband did the detox with me with no ill effects. I think he fared better than me is because he drinks half a cup of coffee per day. I, on the other hand, had a pretty bad reaction on day one. SEVERE caffeine withdrawal. I stupidly refused to give in and pushed through to day two.

Days two and three were a breeze and I feel awesome. Very few cravings for junk, coffee isn't really appealing to me and I've lost 5 lbs. LOVE IT!!!

Apparently this is the plan Jennifer Garner uses before Awards Shows and such. Anyway, it works and you don't feel like you are starving (on days two and three!!).The foods and spices are all supposed to help flush things like your liver and help you jump start fat burning, etc. I'm no expert though.

Check out this article. It explains the whole thing in more detail.

My only other piece of advice. DO NOT treat yourself to Jelly Belly sugar free jelly beans. ESPECIALLY not an entire bag. It's ugly I tell you.

But that's tomorrow's post.

Stay tuned.

Damn I'm good,

Mani/Pedi, hair foil and cut, eyebrow wax, spray tan.

And the day isn't even half way over.

All WITHOUT a drop of caffeine.

I AM SUPERWOMAN.

More about my caffeine withdrawal and detox later. I'm on a roll people!

Better to give a little, than nothing at all.

I've been feeling kind of bad lately about letting my little blog die, so I've decided to check in once a day...just to say hello and write SOMETHING, anything!!!

If you thought this blog was shallow before, get ready to hit dry land.

Here goes....