Meh.
I know this might surprise you, but Jeanne and I tend toward the overdramatic. In general, we have ALL THE FEELINGS about everything and rare is our response a simple "meh." And so, we couldn't really figure out why we have both felt a little vanilla-ish about things for the past few weeks. And then we realized it is likely because have been working at a normal pace since the beginning of the year and we really just thrive when we are baking 80 hours a week and crying at least once a day. If you really want to see us at our optimum, order 1700 pies for pick-up in two days and ask for each box of the 1700 boxes to be tied with special ribbon...it might knock us out of our funk. Here is what has been going on while we've been busy feeling meh...
- Whatever overdramatic emotional energy we have has been fully focused on the final days of the Inside Columbia Best of Columbia contest. We are nominated for Best New Restaurant of 2014 and no lies, I want to win. I have no idea what we get for winning and it doesn't matter...involve me in anything that includes a voting process and every bone in my body becomes competitive. I feel strongly that a win in this category would make an excellent chapter on the book I'll some day write about the road to World Pie Domination. Vote through Saturday at: http://www.insidecolumbia.net/Contests/.
- About six months ago, our super amazing designer Caroline Leemis of Caroline Leemis Designs gifted us each with a one-hour massage at Back Space Massage. We cashed those suckers in on Monday after felt like new women afterwards. If you haven't been to Back Space, put it on your list. We've spent most of the past two days discussing whether or not we could write off a monthly membership to Back Space as a legitimate business cost to ease the pain of standing on concrete for 12 hours a day. I would vote an emphatic yes, but the IRS is not known for their support of writing stuff off because it classifies as "much-needed relaxation time."
- You can tell the spring semester at Mizzou has started because of the number of journalism students who call each day and ask to do a multi-media project on PJP and/or Jeanne and I. We hereby apologize to the entire teaching staff at the University of Missouri School of Journalism...you are all probably super tired of seeing our faces.
- You can also tell it is a new year because every other phone call is someone from an Internet service provider, credit card processor, or an insurance company asking if they can submit a bid to us. I just give them the email address for Behind-The-Scenes-Tech-Guru Jason and then hang-up. Bwahahahaha...
- One out of three customers who visit PJP Buttonwood comment on the traffic situation with the Sonic and the Starbucks under construction. It certainly doesn't make life on Buttonwood terribly convenient right now, but on occasion we must make a sacrifice for proximity to a venti iced coffee with six Splendas and a splash of half and half. My only apprehension is training a whole new Starbucks staff to not mock my Splenda consumption.
- I realized today that it will soon be time to think about how we will celebrate our one-year anniversary and I felt a little panicky. I mean, shouldn't I know more and mess up less than I did almost one year ago?
- The new issue of Inside Columbia features our Dutch Apple pie as one of Columbia's top "transcendent" desserts and we could not be more honored if we tried. And some serious props to LG Patterson, who photographed our sweet Dutch in a most swoon-worthy way...
- I keep forgetting to mention that because of a cancellation, we actually have two seats open for next Thursday's #pieandbooze event with Dogmaster Distillery. We teach you to make pie and Dogmaster teaches you to make the paired cocktail. Isn't that the most beautiful pie and cocktail related sentence you've ever read?
- I can't stop watching Fixer Upper on HGTV. If you have not watched yet, go immediately. I'm a smitten kitten for Chip and Joanna and now spend my spare time trolling realtor.com for houses under our budget so I can spend every dollar possible on renovations after I promise Chip and Joanna all the pie in the world if they will just come here and build me a French herb garden in the atrium of the run-down house I buy and spend $100,000 to fix up. I've put some thought into this, clearly.
- Speaking of television binging, Jeanne has moved on to House of Cards and completely zones out anyone trying to have a conversation with her that doesn't include plot lines surrounding Frank Underwood or Zoe Barnes. She is in the thick of the first season and come to think of it, she would probably turn down an order for 1700 pies due in 48 hours because then how would she know what happens to Congressman Russo? The struggle is real, people.