Keeping Up With the Allens

Jackson’s First Birthday!

Happy birthday to our mischievous and cuddly dog Jackson! Today our pup is one!

It’s hard to believe the day is finally here. This day has been a big milestone that we have been looking forward to for a long time and we’re happy to have made it through the first 12 months. It has been an amazing time so far and I trust that it will only get better. Jackson has been such a welcome addition to our family and has improved our lives dramatically, while also testing our patience, making me learn to speak with a low and firm voice and driving us crazy. We just adore our puppy and are so happy that he is here with us celebrating his birthday today.

Jackson went from being a two pound potsticker to a 75 pound ham in what seems like a month. This year has gone by incredibly fast and it has been so fun to watch Jackson grow up into a {sometimes} mature dog.

Jack and Alex hanging out in the media room together.

Jackson has always preferred sleeping on tile. Since we got him at the beginning of the summer we allowed him to sleep in the bathroom instead of a crate as a way to keep cool.

He is a ball of furry, uncontrollable energy, a sweet little baby who just wants to lay on the floor and cuddle and he is an excellent ball player. He is independent, yet extremely loyal. No matter what he’s doing if the dishwasher door gets opened, you can count on Jackson to be there to lick whatever he can reach within a matter of seconds. Jackson loves to be the center of attention and make sure everyone knows he is there.

Jackson at 14.5 weeks – getting bigger but still a fluffy baby

Handsome man! — Handsome man – Jackson at 4.5 months

We have spent many great days at Marymoor Dog Park

An ideal day for Jackson would be spent running around in the snow. Or running around anywhere. Swimming would be included for sure. So would playing with other dogs. Definitely eating cheese and hot dogs. And spending time with his puppy parents. Jackson is a relatively easy-going dog – he loves to go on adventures, whether it’s going for a hike, playing in the snow, running around at the dog park or just going to a new place he has never been, Jackson loves to be outside exploring.

Jackson is always at my feet... no matter where I am or what I am doing, there's about a 90% guarantee that Jackson is on or within 3 inches of my feet. — Jackson is always at my feet… no matter where I am or what I am doing, there’s about a 90% guarantee that Jackson is on or within 3 inches of my feet.

Jackson's first trip to the snowy mountains at age 8 months. — Jackson’s first trip to the snowy mountains at age 8 months.

We have certainly had our challenges with Jackson since he came into our lives but we are so happy with the dog he has become. It is so exciting to think about him growing old with us and what role he will play in our future. I am really looking forward to having a running companion and maybe even a guard dog someday. I think we’re in for a great summer and a wonderful future with our pup!

He loves just hanging out on the front porch.

My favorite. — My favorite… Sleepy Jackson!

Happy Birthday, Jackson!

Visitors, Red Cow and a Promotion!

My dad and brother came for a visit back in mid-February and somehow when my dad bought their plane tickets he accidentally selected a return date of March 18th instead of February 18th. That meant that my dad still had a plane ticket on March 18th, so he decided to come out to see us again instead of letting his return ticket go to waste.

Hoping to ski, my dad arrived on Saturday afternoon, March 15th, ski gear and all. We knew that the weather was going to be iffy and that it might end up raining in the mountains. There had been some major avalanches at Crystal Mountain earlier in the week so we also knew that most of our favorite runs to ski had slid that week, leaving nothing but avalanche debris. Unfortunately for us, the rain did not hold off for us to ski on Sunday. But, no different than usual, my dad brought the snow with him, just on the wrong day. It ended up snowing over a foot on Monday but neither Alex or I could take the day off to enjoy it.

Avalanche debris that took out the High Campbell chair lift at Crystal Mountain

On Sunday instead of skiing we headed to the Hi Spot for brunch before perusing through the new Museum of History and Industry. I am not a big museum lover but did find it very interesting to learn a lot about Seattle and Washington history. After we had gone through the museum we braved the rain and camped out at Von Trapp’s, a newer German bierhaus in Capitol Hill, to grab some sausage, pretzels and a beer for the boys.

Checking out bocce ball at Von Trapp's — Checking out bocce ball at Von Trapp’s

Both Alex and I had to work on Monday. I had an unusually busy day that brought me downtown to a board meeting. After doing a few things around the house Monday morning, my dad and I hopped in the car and headed to the Columbia Tower so he could work via the 40th floor Starbucks and check out the view while I attended my board meeting. Afterwards my dad accompanied me to tutoring where he got to see me in action at one of the schools I work at.

Alex and Fred at Von Trapp's — Alex and Fred at Von Trapp’s

While we were en route back to my house from tutoring I got a phone call from my mom. When I answered I figured she was calling to tell me she made it home safely from her trip to Hawaii. Much to my surprise, she was stuck in Seattle again! Her flight from Hawaii was delayed so she missed her connection back to Minnesota and needed to stay the night. She quickly hopped in a cab and found her way to our house just in time to join us for dinner at Le Red Cow, a new restaurant in our neighborhood. Having my divorced parents sleeping under the same roof and eating at the same table was certainly not something I had expected to be doing that night but we all survived!

Earlier that day Alex called with some unexpected news. He was given a promotion! A celebration was in order. We toasted to Alex and his hard work while we dined at Red Cow. We all enjoyed our meal and I think it’s safe to say this restaurant will be a hit in our little neighborhood.

After a great weekend it was time to make another trip to the airport to see my parents off on Tuesday morning. I can’t think of any other time when I had the opportunity to see them both so much in such a short amount of time since I left for college in 2004. What a treat it was!

Rainy Ski Weekend in the Mountains

The last two weeks have flown by so fast that I have not kept up with what’s been happening around here. I’m working on catching up, so stay tuned for an update on what has been going on and keeping me away from the computer. Let’s rewind to Thursday March 6th and pick up where we left off.

My mom was scheduled to leave Minnesota for a trip to Hawaii on the 6th and ended up getting stuck overnight in Seattle. This meant we had a surprise visitor! It was nice to have a truly impromptu visit from my mom and an opportunity to catch up. We were all happy to have an excuse to go out to Bottlehouse and grab a glass {or two} of wine and some dinner.

The next day marked the start of our Crystal cabin weekend. We had been looking forward to our cabin weekend with the Millers, Buffingtons and Albenesious/Smiths for quite some time. The Buffingtons were the first ones to arrive and the only ones who got to see the cabin in daylight the first day, which ended up being the only time it wasn’t raining, too. Alex and I arrived right around dusk and then the Millers came a bit later in the evening. Unfortunately, Sally and Ian got in a fender bender on their way to the cabin so they weren’t able to make it until Saturday.

Our cabin was great! It was an old-school lodge that had been nicely updated in some areas, but also left in its original rustic state in other spots. The cabin was very spacious with a gigantic wrap-around deck and a view of the roaring White River. Thanks to Carrie for taking some great pictures when it was clear and light out!

Great photo of the cabin's lodge and expansive great room — Great photo of the cabin’s lodge and expansive great room

Despite the horrible weather we had a great weekend. It’s always a bummer to ski in the rain, but ski in the rain we did… for about an hour… until we were soaked to the bone and went to the bar!

Once we had enough of the Bullwheel we headed back to the cabin to meet Sally and Ian. We spent the rest of the evening eating, drinking, playing Cards Against Humanity and just hanging out. Oh, and taking care of the crazy dogs.

What a great weekend {sorry for the blurry photo!}

Apparently having two older nutso puppies means that they take center stage. Unfortunately for all of us the dogs were a bit more crazy than usual. Neither one of them slept a wink the first night so they kept their respective owners and Carrie awake for the majority of the night. Thankfully they were much better the second night so we were able to catch up on a little sleep. Hopefully the pups settle down and learn to relax very soon!

Overall it was a great trip! We really enjoyed spending time with everyone and having a weekend away.

It’s Henry’s Birthday!

Today my little Henry cat turns 3! It has been fun to look back at photos of Henry and his late brother when they were tiny kittens. I sure do miss my Oliver cat but am thankful for the time we had him. Alex and I were talking this morning about what to do for Henry for his birthday, but it’s hard to know since he is so indifferent to anything. I think we’ll give him extra treats and lots of playtime… if he’ll oblige, that is!

A New Approach to Meal Planning

After realizing that I spend too much time, money and energy in the meals we have been eating I decided that a change was in order. I love to cook and I love to sit on Pinterest trying to find the next best meal. Oh, and I don’t have kids. That combination is kind of dangerous. I have been preparing some great meals but I really don’t need to spend that amount of time cooking each night and scouring the internet looking for new recipes. I think I did an okay job of trying to extend my ingredients as far as possible but my grocery bills were still too high for just two people.

Enter change: I have decided to do a monthly “stock up” at the start of each new month, then supplement that with fresh produce and dairy. That way I’ll start each month with a full fridge, freezer and pantry and be challenged to use only what I have, except for some fresh veggies and dairy products. It’s going to be hard but I think I can do it!

Here’s how it is going to work in March… I ordered my groceries to be delivered on March 1. The biggest thing I did was stock up on meat products. Meat is by far the most expensive part of my groceries. I buy organic, free-range, grass-fed meat so it does cost more. I have no idea if I’ll be able to do this but I am going to try to use only the meat I already have, as well as the meat I ordered for the entire month of March.

Here’s what I got in the meat department:

4 chicken breasts = $22
3.5 lbs pork roast = $10
2 lbs of flank steak = $19
4 boneless pork chops = $10
Vegetables & herbs (broccoli, potatoes, brussels sprouts, mushrooms, peppers, avocados, garlic, cilantro, thyme, acorn squash, onions, tomatoes, spinach) = $45
Fruits (bananas, apples, oranges, pears) = $15
Other ingredients (bread, cheese, lunch meat, eggs, etc.) = $30
Total grocery bill = $150.28

My pantry is fairly well-stocked right now, and I have ground beef, Italian sausage, breakfast sausage and bacon in the freezer already, so I am pretty well set as we start off the new month.

Here are some things I like to keep on hand in my pantry:

Quinoa
Couscous
White beans
Chickpeas
Tomato sauce
Diced tomatoes
Chicken stock
Asian noodles
Oats
Barley, lentils
Olive oil
Vinegar (red wine, apple cider, balsamic, etc.)
Cooking wine (sherry, Marsala)
Spices and dried herbs

Some things I have/plan to have on hand in my fridge/freezer are:

Butter
Milk
Sour cream
Eggs
Fresh pasta (I like linguine, tortellini/ravioli and gnocchi)
Tortillas
Ginger
Asian seasonings (soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, fish sauce, etc.)
Capers and olives
Lemons
Herbs (I try to grow these in the summer!)
Granola
Frozen fruits for smoothies/yogurt parfaits
Frozen veggies to add to fried rice or a stir fry (peas/carrots/corn medley)
Nuts

One thing I will still continue to do is plan our meals. I am too type-a and indecisive to fly by the seat of my pants in that regard. I will just plan each week based on the foods that we currently have and add additional fresh ingredients as needed. Here is what’s on the menu for next week:

The challenge is on – I have no idea how I am going to fare but I have high hopes that this will be an exciting change in the way we eat.

Weekly Recap

I’m not sure where the week went but somehow it’s Friday again! We haven’t had a particularly busy week, mostly just a lot of little things going on.

Jackson & Alex cuddling in Jackson's new bed — Jackson & Alex cuddling in Jackson’s new bed

I’ll start with a Jackson update. Last week Jackson got neutered. The procedure went very smoothly and he was basically back to normal the next day. Since Jackson has unusual amounts of energy the vet sent us home with some sedatives to keep him calm, so as to avoid popping a stitch. We were very thankful for the doctor’s foresight! Now, nearly two weeks later, he is totally back to normal. I haven’t seen a decrease in his energy at this point, but he has shown less interest in marking.

This is what we woke up to today. Thank you Jackson!

Today Jackson is 11 months old! Time sure has flown since we got him back in mid-May. Today I was able to take Jackson for a sunny mid-day run down on Lake Washington. He did really well for the most part but tuckered out towards the end.

The weather has been unbelievably nice here this week {sorry Midwest!} so we have been getting out as much as possible to enjoy it while it lasts. It’s supposed to snow tomorrow.

The first of many days that Jackson will enjoy out on the front porch just hanging out.

Last weekend we hosted a post-Valentine’s Day celebration with some friends. We wanted to do something fun and different so we made fondue!

I have been consumed in travel planning this week. Our Europe trip is quickly approaching, but I am also trying to plan a different weekend away this summer, in addition to making preparations for Alex’s parents to visit in a few weeks and my dad to come back and visit us again shortly. I sure do love planning, so I have been enjoying putting all of this together.

I got new slippers! Thanks to Jackson I had to throw away my old slippers and order new ones. These amazing Wicked Good Moccasins from LL Bean arrived at my house this week after being back ordered.

We got caught up in House of Cards, the TV series on Netflix. Holy cow. As of today we have 2 more episodes in the second season and I can’t imagine what is going to happen. As great as that show is, I am ready for a little break. One of my favorite shows {The Little Couple} is coming back on Monday, so I’m thankful for the return of our cable TV!

Otherwise, it’s pretty much business as usual here.

Fred & John’s Trip to Washington

My brother and father were out visiting for a long weekend to hang out in the mountains and to spend some time with us in Seattle. They sure picked a great weekend to come skiing! In the four days they were here, Crystal Mountain received over 5.5 feet of snow!! Needless to say, we had an unlimited supply of powder waiting for us on Saturday.

The gang arrived on Friday night, which was Valentine’s Day. Knowing that we had to get up early the next morning we decided not to brave the crowds and go out for dinner. Instead, we all made a big Asian feast together. I made a stir fry while John took charge of fried rice and Alex and Fred conquered the wontons. After dinner we hit the hay to rest up for our big ski day.

For me, the highlight of the trip was Saturday, our only ski day, which my cousin Chris joined us for. We knew the forecast was predicting snow, snow and more snow, so we decided to do the First Tracks breakfast that Crystal Mountain offers. This is a little early morning event that allows you to take the gondola up to the top of the mountain at 7:30 a.m., eat a nice breakfast and hang out at the summit, then ski for an hour before the rest of the mountain opens. Certainly this isn’t something we’d need to do every weekend, but it was such a nice, relaxing way to start our epic ski day.

Fred, Chris and Alex ready for the powder day

Once we were unleashed and allowed to go skiing, I bet we got a good 6 runs in before the crowds came in and the lines started to build. On a normal day, I don’t even think Alex and I get 6 runs in before lunch.

To say that the snow was amazing would be the understatement of the year. Alex and I both agreed that it was quite possibly our best ski day ever. The snow was light, soft, perfect powder. The best part was that it snowed all day long, providing “free refills” each run.

Once our legs were shot we rounded out the day with a drink {or a few} at the world-famous Snorting Elk Cellar before heading back to Seattle for a relaxing night at home. I made a quick batch of macaroni and cheese and we spent the rest of the evening watching the Olympics.

Everyone was too sore and tired to ski on Sunday so we decided to grab brunch at the Hi Spot Cafe in our neighborhood and head to Woodinville to do a beer tour at Redhook and taste wine at Mark Ryan Winery. John spent the time while we were at the winery in the car, and unfortunately for him, he missed an incredible wine tasting. We drove around Woodinville a bit to check out some different parts of the town before heading back to the Bottlehouse for an evening of wine drinking.

While Alex had to work on Monday, it was our plan to go to Snoqualmie Pass to ski for half a day. Unfortunately the pass was closed all morning so we couldn’t get up there. It snowed over 20 inches overnight so the DOT was having trouble dealing with the avalanche control work and clearing the roads. We had planned on meeting my aunt and uncle up at the pass, but since our plans changed, I ended up dropping my dad and John off at their house for a few hours instead. John and my uncle Michael went canoeing near their house while my dad and aunt Cathy took a walk together to catch up on family business.

That evening we met up as a family at Cactus, a Southwestern restaurant in the South Lake Union neighborhood, for happy hour. It was nice to have everyone together and have the chance to catch up!

I was able to get some work out of my brother! That doesn't happen too often... — I was able to get some work out of my brother! That doesn’t happen too often…

We ended the evening back at home by watching some more of the Olympics and having a light dinner. As always, it’s nice to get a chance to spend some extra time with family when they visit Seattle.

Allentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day came early for us this year. My dad and brother are coming to visit this coming weekend, so we celebrated “Allentine’s Day” last weekend with a wonderful evening out at Harvest Vine, a well-renowned Spanish restaurant near our neighborhood.

While I was writing my Valentine’s Day card to Alex I was thinking back to previous Valentine’s Days that we have shared together and realized that this is our tenth Valentine’s Day together! The first Valentine’s Day we spent together was in 2005, we were 18 years old. The weekend of Valentine’s Day that year we had gone back to Illinois to stay with Alex’s parents. We had been dating for about four months at that point and I had only briefly met his parents once or twice.

Valentine's Day 2005 — Valentine’s Day 2005

Aside from a time or two as a very small child I had never been to Chicago before, so I was excited at the thought of getting to know Alex’s parents better and exploring downtown Chicago. We went downtown to the Chicago Auto Show, walked the Madison Mile, saw the bean in Millennium Park and strolled through Navy Pier. That Saturday night, which I don’t even recall if it was actually Valentine’s Day or not, we went out for dinner at Za Za’s, an Italian restaurant in DeKalb, Alex’s hometown.

Our first Valentine's Day in Chirago — Our first Valentine’s Day in Chicago

It has been fun to think back on our first Valentine’s Day and all of the memories that come with that time in our lives.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Powder, Wine and New Slippers

It’s been a slightly quieter week here in the Allen household. We have been busy planning and preparing for my dad and brother to come visit us this weekend and somehow it is Wednesday evening now. The snow forecast is shaping up quite nicely for their ski trip so we’re really looking forward to their arrival on Friday.

We're hoping for a snowy week at Crystal — We’re hoping for a snowy week at Crystal

Friday night we had our Valentine’s Day celebration a week early. We had a lovely evening out at Harvest Vine near our house.

We loved this wine from the Priorat region in Spain

Because of the forecast and our plans on Friday and Saturday nights we opted to stay home on Saturday and go skiing on Sunday instead. We carried our Valentine’s Day celebration into Saturday morning by starting the day with coffee and watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics. We had memosas and a wonderful breakfast, then took Jackson out for a long walk.

We had a pretty relaxing remainder of the day at home on Saturday and then hosted Italian Wine Club at our house that night. We were pleasantly surprised when it started to snow on Saturday evening! It rarely snows in Seattle but it seems like everyone in the city turns into a kid again when the ground turns white.

We expected that Sunday would bring us some fresh snow to ski so we got up earlier than we had ever gotten up for a ski day and headed to Crystal. The reason we got up so early was so that we could get to Crystal and walk Jackson and be at he lift line when the chair lift opens. Lately we have been arriving around 30 minutes prior to the lifts opening, so we have been having more leisurely days.

Our expectations were fulfilled and we were greeted with about 8-10 inches of light and fluffy powder! A normal “powder day” for us is a day with a lot of fresh, heavy, wet snow. We in Washington call it Cascade Concrete because it’s like skiing concrete instead of nice fluffy powder.

While we had a great day with Jackson on Sunday, his behavior for the rest of the weekend wasn’t necessarily pleasant the whole time. He decided that my slippers would become his newest chew toy. Unfortunately for me he finally destroyed them to the point of being unwearable. We have been working on new strategies for keeping him off the couch and our bed and while we were using Alex’s strategy of ignoring him he destroyed one of the pillows on our sofa. We are taking applications for puppy trainers and looking for jobs for Jackson so he can earn his keep and buy me new slippers.

Our week has been pretty low-key, yet busy during the day for me. We have been enjoying watching the Olympics, which has been great, but I am really excited to not be sitting on the sofa all evening when they’re over. It has been fun and life is good 🙂

Here’s What’s Happening in our House this Week

It’s a busy week in the Allen household! We’ve got a lot going on during the days and evenings this week. I am in the process of coordinating our dog sitter for Europe and hiring an Italian tutor, as well as booking some lodging for our Europe trip and two summer trips in Eastern Washington. Other than the travel planning this week we’re hoping to go night skiing one day, both of us have some social obligations and I have a work function. Last week we started our Monday, Wednesday and Friday runs and so far they are going really well. I’m keeping up with Pilates and Alex has gotten back to the gym after kicking his flu bug into the past.

We had an awesome weekend! We started the weekend off with a ski day on Saturday. Jackson got to rage in the snow for about an hour before he went to take a nap in the car while Alex and I made a few runs.

Jackson sure loves to run around in the snow! It’s so fun to watch him just bolt back and forth with the biggest smile we’ve ever seen plastered across his face.

It was a gorgeous day on the mountain! We explored new territory, got to see Mount Rainier and enjoyed each other’s company.

On Sunday we had plans to go to the Millers to watch the Super Bowl so we got some errands out of the way in the morning. We had a great time cheering on our home team on Sunday with the Millers and the Buffingtons. It has been a lot of fun to see how spirited Seattle is with a winning team.

This gigantic furry ball of energy has a big, big change coming up. He has no idea. After discussing his frequent bursts of energy that are so wild they make him vomit, our veterinarian advised us that it’s time to get Jackson neutered. We had held off on neutering him because we keep hearing that new research is showing that by waiting until a large breed male is fully-grown it can reduce the risk of some cancers. Our breeder recommended neutering him at 18 months and we were going to compromise on a year, but it looks like it’ll be just a few days shy of 11 months for Jackson.

Since last week’s vet visit we have been really working with him on calming down and encouraging calm behavior. We’ve brought out his special mat which seems to really help him mellow out. We have also been confining him to the bathroom again for the last week or so. He just has too much destructive energy and testosterone raging through his body right now to really know what to do with himself! We know he’s a good dog, but we’re both excited for him to be able to take it easy once he gets neutered.