Know a question I absolutely cannot stand?: What’s up?
It’s a human question, similar to another personal favorite, How are you?, but it’s one of those questions better asked interwoven into intimate conversation rather than spat out upon first run in with someone whom you truly do want to know what’s up.
With the question, What’s up?, my answer comes out bland and boring: Nothing much. Writing, teaching music lessons, cooking, baking, you know, pretty much everything I’ve been doing for what feels like forever now. Even I start to fall asleep with this answer.
Here are the things a quick What’s up conversation will not reveal:
1. I am in love with our weather in NJ right now. We had some cold rainy days, but they kind of kept us from an unrealistic weather high. Easter Sunday was about as perfect a summer day in spring could be, and I’m hoping for more days as such.
How adorable are these baby pine cones?
2. I am going through Walking Dead withdraw and, before you say anything, believe me, it is a real and serious thing. Lance and I blazed through the current seven seasons and find ourselves in the same boat as those who have been faithfully watching since its start and now have to wait, like ordinary folk, for the new season to start back up in October.* I’m not sure I will survive until then.
*We’ll be starting Fear the Walking Dead in the meantime to help carry us onward.
3. My Kitchen Aid mixer broke. Let it sink in. My Kitchen Aid mixer, an appliance I use almost daily, broke. While I knew the need to purchase a higher powered mixer was growing, I thought, despite the sputtering engine, loud stirring, and slight delay in motion I could hold out longer. It was a day I decided to tackle four batches of croissant dough. On the fourth, my yellow school bus colored mixer ceased to be. While the purchase of a new mixer is obviously a financial need, the larger problem I’m faced with is what color to choose.
This, friends, is quite a difficult decision, one that requires a lot of analysis and comparison via Amazon.
Pray for me.
Here’s what I’m deciding between:
4. I’m almost finished with my 30 Days of Dinners and I’ll confess right here and now there won’t be quite thirty dinners pictured in the end. What is messing me up are dinners not eaten at home. It’s pretty much guaranteed if I don’t make the meal, I forget to take a picture, which doesn’t make sense because that is normally the time I’m more likely to photograph my food.
Go figure.
I tried to pick my favorite dinner so far, but honestly, there are so many I’ve loved I went with one that was shared with loved ones:
Summer Stir Fry
5. I already knew breakfast was possibly, truly, actually, likely my favorite meal of the day and my first and second visits to Turning Point only further confirmed my suspicions. With locations in NJ and PA, every time I drove by a Turning Point, I’d think to myself, Jess, you should really go there sometime.
When I finally did, what impressed me most was the unique flavors and individuality of each of their breakfast selections. With a beach side restaurant feel, they manage to class up the average breakfast menu by providing creative selections and, my favorite, French press coffee and flavored hot chocolates.
The vanilla bean mascarpone on the Salted Caramel Waffle is life changing and good for your soul, I promise.
6. Since I’ve been running more often at the gym, I can’t read like I did when I biked or walked, not unless I want to slip off and look like more of a fool than I already do running.
I tried enriching my mind with the sounds of Verdi and Mozart, but found I was too distracted by news channels blinding me overhead. Then the wild idea to listen to books on tape came to me and ever since I’ve been gobbling them up. I listen while I’m running, doing the dishes, showering, cooking, basically anywhere my mind is free to wander. My books follow me wherever I go and I love it.
So, what’s up with you?
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