To blog again?

Whoa...life gets in the way of blogging. It has been forever since I posted anything. I am actually shocked that my blog hasn't been cancelled. I have been thinking of posting on here more to better document the things the Keens do and big things going on in our lives.

Since last blogging we have gotten married bought a house, fixed it up, had a wonderful daughter, moved to a new house (what I call our forever home), completed some big remodeling projects on it and can't stop. :)  Now we are expecting a little boy in May. Hoping I will get back into this by posting some of the stuff we have done to the house, attempted craft projects, Dan's cooking, and who knows what else. I want to document more of what our family does for our own benefit, so what better place than here. Wish me luck and focus to get this done.

IKEA Hack?

Hello Loyal Viewers...I am shocked and yet not totally surprised that it has been a year since I blogged...well, just about. I guess I should add it to the list of things to improve on in 2015. Starting...now.

So, I wouldn't say that I LOVE IKEA, but I do appreciate it. When I first moved into my own place it was my best friend to furnish my living room and provide home from my clothing. It was a great and inexpensive way to get a clean look in my new home and even I can put the furniture together. Oh, I wish I had pictures of the TV stand that I put together...you would all be so proud. 

Anywho, a couple pieces from that first place (to my surprise) have survived a few moves and served me well. This week, as we were packing away Christmas and putting away the tree, we decided to turn one of these faithful pieces of furniture into kitchen storage so that we will no longer have to search all over the apartment for hidden kitchen appliances, bake-ware, stemware, etc (first go to place to look was always under the guest bed).

So, we headed to IKEA to see what we could find. Here are some pictures from the project, if people want to know the details, let me know. I will say that the bookshelf is from a line (Besta Vara) that I believe they are discontinuing, which is unfortunate because it is so versatile.  

Here is the original bookshelf in all of it's glory. Well, actually this is its twin because I forgot to take the before picture of the one that we transformed, but you get the idea. :)

The during...

The after!!!!

A rack to hold cookbooks, some stemware, pots/pans/lids, bake-ware, small kitchen appliances and anything else that might come to mind.

We used the Grundtal Series for the hooks and rods.

Two hanging rods with hooks to hang pans and a utensil box for extra utensils. 

A drawer for lids and splatter guards. 

Lower storage for Kitchen Aid Mixer, Crockpot, and other bake-ware

Some things to note...

1) IKEA does not provide the screws to drill in the hanging rods, we (and by we, I mean Dan) used sheet metal screws (3/4 inch).
2) We purchased the stemware racks at Home Depot, because the ones at IKEA did not fit our glasses (the bases were too wide).  There are also a lot of options online.

I am so thankful to have Dan and all of his tools to be able to help our ideas come to life. Not to say that I couldn't have done this, but it definitely wouldn't have come out so nice and it might have fallen apart over night...the perks of being with an engineer and having a partner in crime. 

Happy New Years!!!

Mount Si Hike

It is sad that I grew up in the Snoqualmie Valley and have never done this hike before (it is also pretty sad about how long it has been since I posted, but we don't need to get into that and other than Katelyn, I doubt anyone is too worried about it). Given my crazy dog and her need to be the only dog in the area, we elected to take the road less traveled and took the less used route (Don't forget your Discover Pass).

http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/mount-si-via-mount-teneriffe-road-trail

We (Me, Dan, Matt (Dan's friend from college who has been visiting us for a bit) and Gabby) ended up hiking higher and more distance than this, our route ended up being about 12 miles round trip per my fitbit  and we didn't even get to an "end" and could have kept going.  If you want an easier hike in the same area try Little Si.

Recommendations for this trip:
- Pack more snacks than some trail mix and shotbloks, this is probably a given for the experienced hiker, but I always tend to try to pack light because I hate carrying a lot of stuff.
- Layer up if you are going to go any time soon, I saw people in coats and bundled up pretty good and the at the top there was a guy in shorts and that was about it. I was pretty cold to start, warmed up pretty good through the hike and then started to get a lil chilly as we made our way back down.

All and all, we were hurting a bit the next couple days and maybe that wasn't a great get back into hiking trip, but we made it and are all ready to go on another hike or perhaps some snow shoeing with my lil sister after Super Bowl weekend.

GO SEAHAWKS!!!

Here are some pictures from the hike sorry for some Instagram duplicates.

You can kind of see Rainier if you look closely. My sister was snow shoeing over there the same day...I am pretty sure if you look closely you can see her. :)

Hopefully there will be many more hikes and posts. I am excited that Katelyn is moving back to Washington so we can go on a bunch of hikes this summer.

America's Cup...

So...on a random trip to California in July to see my lovely Kate. I was educated on America's Cup and found out that it was going to be in San Francisco this year.

Per Wikipedia, America's Cup (affectionately known as the Auld mug) is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two sailing yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging for the cup. The America's Cup is the oldest international sporting trophy.

San Francisco's waterfront was all done up for the event. First there was the Louis Vuitton Cup. This is the event that determines who will be the challenger and will race against the current cup holder (USA). This year New Zealand won the Louis Vuitton, and it looked like they were going to win America's Cup, but the US pulled it together (thanks to Dan and I being there to give them a pep talk when we came to watch them race in September. The whole event is over the course of a few months.  Here are some pics for the trips to over there.  We had an amazing time visiting Kate and Jack despite Dan being on his death bed for our trip.  We even got to see the actual cup...Dan was like a kid in Disneyland. :)

Extensions...

I never thought I would play with or have a use for extensions. My best friend, Katelyn (http://mrsofamedstudent.blogspot.com/) always told me that she uses them to have hair like mine, just like I want to get lash extensions for my lashes to look like hers.

However, I have always been curious. In my blog reading while chilling in San Fran with Kate, I came across Amber's Blog (www.barefootblonde.com) and found some hair styles (http://barefootblonde.com/hairideas). I started reading along and found that I could have a use for extensions!! So excited to play, Kate and I busted hers out and got all decked out for or America's Cup outing (See America's Cup Blog Post). I just ended up doing her extensions because we didn't have time. We ended up trying the braid in Amber's blog...

When we got back from the Cup, Kate busted out another set of extensions and said I needed them and that she was going to play with my hair (thank you so much Kate!!!). She ended up putting all of them in my hair and then in a ponytail. Although it looked awesome (still need to color the extensions), it was heavy and once she braided it, my head was already feeling the pain of the weight (i don't know how people with dreads do it) . Some pics...

I was playing in my hotel in Portland last night and trip the braid as Amber describes at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElcddThnrCs&list=TLnC-kJZCroqw and it wasn't so painful.

Once I dye them, they will blend a bit better, but not too bad. They are fun and an easy way to spice it up. 

Brand: EURONEXT

Color:Chestnut Brown

Length: 18 inches

Anti-Seattle Freeze Movement...

So sorry blogging world, I left you. It has been a crazy, fun summer and I just can't bring myself to sit in front of my computer. I want to be out with my pup and enjoying the AMAZING summer that we have been enjoying in Seattle.

So...I started this post a bit ago and so much has happened since then but this was the start of it all  

I read this article about how Seattle is not that friendly or open city. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Freeze

We keep to ourselves and although are polite, we don't openingly welcome new people into our lives. There are many theories on why. My thought has always been that other people are busy and why would they want me to interrupt their day. I always used to get annoyed when one of my friends (not from Seattle) would go strike up conversations with strangers. Don't bug them...they are enjoying their day. Little did I realize that most of the world does this and Seattle is known for being unfriendly. I decided that I was not going to be a part of this. I was going to be friendly and open. I was going to invite strangers put to meet people and not be a part of this Seattle stereotype. 

I have always (well, at least as an adult) been the type of person to love to bring people together. I love taking groups of people that don't normally mingle and bring them together. I can't wait to someday get married primarily because the idea of having everyone that I love in one place for a party just sounds fabulous to me (I am sure the husband, love, and of course the dress will all be great too). 

So, first victim...I mean...new friend (perhaps more...but that is another post). On a May Saturday, I was chilling in my apartment waiting for some carpet cleaners who were late, I walk down to my managers office to figure out what was going on and there he was. He was looking for an apartment and had just moved from Virginia Beach (I pretend to know where that is...I hope I am right in my assumption that it was in Virginia). I say hi and take a deep breath and invite him and his friend out to a birthday party and then explain my 'mission'. I am sure he thinks I am crazy, but I am trying and don't care. We exchange numbers and he is stored as "Dan from the Lobby."  I go about my way and am happy with my attempt and if it does or doesn't work, I did what I set out to do. 

He doesn't end up coming to that particular party...he had tickets to see Jason Aldean (a reasonable excuse to a country girl like myself). He did however come out to another one and met some people. 

I have continued to be more open...asking confused people with maps on the street if they want help and inviting new people in the area to come out and meet some of my friends in hopes of making more connections. I feel good about it and it has definitely opened my life up a bit. I recommend that others do the same, it has done nothing but good things for me. 

Sorry for my blogging absence. I will do better...

Day Eight: A piece of advice you have for others.

Do what you love or what gets you what you need to be happy with life. 

TRY to think things through a bit, but don't be afraid to make the jump every once and awhile. 

It is not a bad thing to ask for help. 

You are smarter than you think you are (Well...except for some of you, you aren't as smart as you think you are). We are our hardest critic. 

Be proud of your accomplishments and don't let people make you feel bad about them. 

Be there for your friends and family, helping others and making them happy is the greatest gift in the world, but don't sacrifice your happiness/principals to do it. Ensure that what you are doing is actually helping and not enabling. 

Day Seven: The thing(s) you're most afraid of

Spiders and snakes...I don't want to talk about it.

Day Six: If you couldn't answer with your job, how would you answer thequestion, 'what do you do'?

What don't I do? 

I try to do everything and then sometimes turn on the breaks and do nothing. I am active and I am a pet parent, a daughter, a sister, a problem solver, a friend, a best friend, a bestie, a room mate,  hard working, driven. I travel, run, walk, workout, play indoor soccer, play outdoor soccer, am on facebook too much, should be working but am blogging. I love, I rarely fight, I shop, I spend, I return after I have buyer's remorse. I am impulsive and don't always think things all the way through.

I love to spend time with all parts of my family and my perfect day is chilling at home with family/friends on a nice day.

Day Four: Favorite quote

- Oscar Wilde

This is my mantra. I tend to fall in line with things and not always follow my own thoughts/opinion (part of being a people please-er).  Panda has actually been a key person in helping me with this. He always encourages me to make decisions and not just leave it all to him or others. On the other hand, sometimes this is hard because I don't really care what we eat or what we do. :)

Day Three: Things that make me uncomfortable

Hmmm...there are a lot of things that make me uncomfortable, although nothing really stands out.

- Animal cruelty or pets that need homes/better homes. - This fish ownership stuff has been hard for me. Even going to the pet store and seeing all those fish makes me sad.

- People crying or showing significant emotions, especially at work.

- Silence with people that I don't know that well (I think this is a common one).

- People being upset with me or not liking me. I am a people please-er and like people to like me. I don't do well when people are angry or upset with me, even when it isn't my fault. This usually ends up working to others advantage because the situation is so uncomfortable to me that I will do whatever I need to just end it and get back to normal (ie caving on a fight). I am trying to be better about it, but I just don't hold a grudge well and I just want to move on with life.

There have been a few times where I reached my breaking point and those people are just not active parts of my life...granted, it takes A LOT to get there.

Day Two: Educate us on something you know alot about or are good at.

I am good at SO many things...this could be difficult (read sarcastic font).  I am going to go with being a good pet parent on road trips or knowing what Gabs needs, primarily because I just recently did it. 

So, Gabby and I are probably over packers, but we like to be prepared. Recently her and I did a road trip over to Idaho to see my Auntie Jams (aka Jan). She is my mom's best friend from college and like another mom to me. She means the world to me. Gabs and I decided that since Panda was out of town for work, that we should skip on over to visit her. Although not really a skip, more like a ridiculously boring 5+ hr drive, but she is totally worth it.

So...what does her highness need while traveling or just in her day to day life? We have this down pretty well, because we are always heading over to Panda's for the night or something.

1) This may or may not be a legit LV. I will let you decide. This is a great size bag to keep all of her stuff in.

2) Her remote collar, as mentioned in earlier posts, this is a must and it is great for on the farm because there is so much space she can run and run without me worrying.

3) Door Bells - these are great. My mom gave me a set of these when I moved into my apartment. Gabby picked it up pretty quick that if she rang them, we would go outside. They are also nice on doors because if someone does open them, it is a bit of a warning. Many people have thought I had them on my door as a type of alarm.

4) Harness - This is a gentle lead harness, you can hook the leash to the front or the back. If you hook it to the front, then kind of stops the dog from pulling so much. I use this for running and with #8.

5) Puppy pads, given that Gabs is a city dog and I used to work long hours, she is trained (mostly) to use these. I keep a few in my bag so that if I am leaving her at someone's place, she knows where she can go.

6) A water bowl and a ziplock bowl with food in it. I love these ziplock bowls because the lock down tight, great for soups/chili and why not dog food. There is always a full one in her bag in case we are staying out one night.

7) Chuck-it/balls - Saying that Gabs loves to play ball would be an understatement. I keep the short chuck-it and a few balls with us at all times. I like the shorter version because it fits in her bag easier. I also like the orange and blue rubber balls because they tend to hold up a bit longer and are easier to locate.

8) This is a great little invention - it is a short leash. I hook it to her harness and then the handle of the leash goes through the seat belt of the car. Usually gabby travels in the back in her crate (not pictured, but also a must for us), however, for long road trips with just the two of us, I set her up in the seat next to me with this and a blanket. It is nice because she is secure, so we can drive around with all the windows down and I don't have to worry about her jumping out.

9) Thunder shirt - I was surprised that this actually worked. It is supposed to calm your dog down and it actually works, now is gabby a mellow (insert name of mellow dog here) with it? No, but definitely a bit calmer and it also keeps her from getting quite so much hair everywhere. It is great for when we are visiting friends or have just vacuumed my car.

10) Long leash - I got hooked on these with Gab's training for her remote collar. It is nice to have for rest stops or what not. I don't like the retractable leashes because I think they encourage dogs to pull on the leash since with those, there is always a bit of tension. 

11) Chicken Strips or Lamb Strips - Any treat of choice will do.

12) Water bottle and travel attachment for pups - my friend Bart got this attachment for me for my birthday a few years back. It is nice because it attaches to any water bottle. It is nice for when we are on the move or hiking.

13) This is a new item and in all honesty we haven't tried it yet. It is a natural flea/tick repellent. We got this for our trip to Idaho because we were concerned about ticks, but didn't have any issues and haven't used it yet. The ladies at Mud Bay (http://www.mudbay.us/) were recommending it as they don't carry the chemical stuff. I liked the idea, but can't...at this moment comment on how well it works. A later post I am sure.

14) Bully bone or similar - just a nice bone for her to chew on or what she seems to be doing recently is just hiding them, I will have to start an album of funny places she hides her bones.

15) Hedgehog - Gabs actually has a couple of these. It is a nice durable go to toy. It still squeaks and honks.

16) Of course, a leash and bags on board - We just have a basic leash and I found that ordering replacement bags on amazon is the cheap way to go about it.

17)  Gabby recommends that there be an additional ball or two in the mix.

....wow...gabby has a lot of crap.

Some other things to consider carrying along that aren't pictured

- Proof of vaccinations

- ID tags with local names/phone numbers of where you are staying. For example, Gabby has a tag that says she is Jan's dog and has Jan's phone number. You can actually get ID tags really cheap online. It is nice because then if something happens, they know where she is from or a local contact. It is also nice for Idaho because my cell doesn't work well over there. I also have one for when my mom is watching her and I am out of the country or don't have access to my cell.

Hope this little pack helps you to plan for your pup's trips....

a blog post for every day of May challenge...

So...I haven't be able to think of things to blog about for a bit (hence my lack of blogging), but in comes May and someone else has my blogging brain freeze answer. Thanks to my fabulous best friend and her blog reading she found this to help us both power up out of this blogging rut.

Blog every day in May challenge...

So here we go...

Day One: The story of your life in 250 words or less

Me...well, I grew up in Duvall, WA with my mom. My parents divorced when I was 1 (I should really stop making this a key part of my life). I can't even imagine them together, just wouldn't even make sense to me. 

My mom did so much for me growing up and continues to go above and beyond as a mom. I don't know how she did it. I love her so so much!!!

I loved growing up small town and never thought I would live in the city, I was going to end up with a guy and a truck and live on some property. I played basketball...typical sport of a tall gal. After high school, I went to WSU, missed the family and came back to this side of the mountains. I finished up college at UW (I know...who does that?). Straight from College I started work at Moss Adams. I then found my two partners in crime (Gabs and Panda).

Now, I live in the city in a small apartment, work downtown and couldn't image leaving the city (although a vacation place in the country might be nice. I am also not a vet, which I also planned to be as a child...oh how things don't turn out as planned but are still fabulous!

Things to note about Europe...

I am finally catching up on my European blogging...here are some random thoughts about things I observed over there.

Deodorant
This is not as commonly used over there as it is here, or maybe it used to not be and that smell is just lingering, kind of like it does in that one shirt you wore that one day you forgot to put on deodorant.  It wasn't horrible or unmanageable, just something I noticed.

Tipping
So, in the US we tip...pretty much no matter what. We tip for good service, we tip to compensate for the fact that wait staff don't make enough money, we tip for everything. You tip in Europe for Superior service (which in my opinion is how it should be). There is no expectation and they are grateful for it. This was my experience anyway. Loved it and wish there was a way to change the system here. I hate tipping as a matter of requirement and not because someone actually stepped up and did something above average. I don't get a tip for meeting a deadline and or completely my daily tasks.  Luckily I have friends that work in the service industry and understand how important tipping is, I just wish it worked differently here.

Oh...you are an American?
I loved that you could walk about and no one knew you were a tourist (well...except for maybe Italy). It wasn't until we opened our mouths that people would figure it out. Being someone that mostly vacations in exotic places where we stand out like a sore thumb, this was a nice change. It is nice to be submerged in a culture and no one notice you or try to ask you to buy something because they know you are tourists. 


Boots 
My boots got me through this trip. It took me a bit to find them but for walking your way through Europe, I would say they are the best!  I got them from Nordstrom and lived in them during the trip and for a good part of the time after I got back. I could walk for days in these. They were great because you could dress them up or down.  Nicely done Keen (Bern Baby Boot).

English?
I was a little nervous with potential language barriers when we were planning the trip, I hate being that person that assumes that everyone knows English  although without some serious investment in Rosetta Stone, I didn't think I was going to be able to learn Italian, Dutch and Irish Gaelic by the time we left. So armed with my laptop, phone and the Internet I crossed the world. To my surprise, almost everyone speaks English (Italy being the exception). We tried to learn words and not be those people, but people were pretty awesome. 

European Airlines
We elected to fly around on Ryanair and Easy-Jet. Some things to note. They are STRICT on their weight limits  for checked luggage and carry-on sizes. Be sure to check these as the limits are much lower than in the States and the fees are significantly higher. 



Multiple Airports
So...this might be common knowledge to others, but I was not aware that Rome had multiple airports. I would assume that this might be the case at other cities. We found this out the hard way. We headed to one airport (the one we arrived at) and upon arrival realized that we were at the wrong airport. The other airport is on the other side of town. After a 60 euro trip, we just made it for our flight.

Time Change
I was never able to get used to it, we were in Europe for only 11 days and maybe that was why, but I just never was able to fully get used to it. So if you head over, take that in mind when planning activities, getting up in the morning was a slow process and the black out curtains didn't help me move any faster.

Amsterdam
This was my favorite city and I would love to go there in the summer/spring to really enjoy it. The Netherlands in general was the best part of the trip. The people there were so friendly and the charm of the cities. We spent a lot of time wandering the streets and poking into a few spots.  The weather was pretty rainy when we are there, but it was still beautiful. 





If you have never been to Europe, I can't even begin to explain how amazing it was. The only problem with going is that you will just want to go back.

Does anyone else have any comments? Tips?