Puppy Postscript

Hey folks! I know that many of you were very upset to hear that we had to give Pippin back to the breeder this last week. We were pretty upset to see her go as well, especially since she looked pretty tentative when we dropped her off with all those other dogs. Well, I'm happy to report that Pippin is apparently having the time of her life. When I called to check in on Friday, they told me that she was having so much fun playing with all the other dogs, that she never seemed lonely or scared, and that "she didn't seem to miss us at all" (which is actually what we were hoping to hear). So even though it was a little disheartening for a while, it appears that everything has worked out for the best and little Pip is loving her new life in the country! Yay!

Sarah's Birthday Party!

We're a little backlogged on blog posting, so I will try to get caught up on things that we have been doing lately. We seem to have dug out of the blizzard from last week, and Sarah and I are finally back at school and work. First off, I figured we should post some pictures from Sarah's awesome birthday party. It started with her birthday dinner that I prepared on Tuesday, which consisted of her favorite meal; beef bourguignon with potatoes au gratin. This time I took it up a notch and made some creme brulee for dessert. Here's an awesome action shot of the kitchen torch.


The meal came out pretty well this time, and Sarah and I had a great dinner together. It's great when times are tough to be able to have a nice meal with one another.


On Friday of the same week we had Sarah's birthday party. We made a pretty ambitious menu of lemon chicken with peanut satay dip, fried polenta cakes with chicken pesto topping, beef brisket wrapped in puff pastry, bacon cheese dip in a bread bowl, and lemon tassies for dessert. Oh, and a veggie plate we bought from the store.


Sarah helped make her own birthday cake, which is probably breaking some sort of birthday rule, but at least I decorated myself (which explains the noticeable lack of ornamentation).


Overall, the party seemed to be a success. We were so glad that so many of our friends were able to come celebrate with us. Thanks to all of you who came!

When It Rains, It Pours...

Or perhaps I should say, when it snows, it blizzards. I thought I was really clever last week when I referred to an upcoming storm in an email as the snow-pocalypse, but then every other person in DC came up with the exact same name for the storm, so I guess I am not as creative as I thought. Sarah and I have been completely snowed in this entire week. We haven't gone to school or work, and really only leave the house to take the dog out. On the plus side, we have been doing tons of cooking, which includes chicken curry, chili, cornbread, biscuits, chocolate chip walnut cookies, hummus, and macaroni and cheese.

Aside from the snow storm of 2010, we have had some other bad news as well. I found out that I won't be flying out to California for an interview with a pharmaceutical company, since they have already filled the position. Also, Sarah's grandmother has had some pretty serious medical troubles from which she is recovering.

Finally, we found out that we have to give our precious puppy Pippin away. Sarah grew up with a dog and never had any allergic reactions, but since bringing Pippin home, she has had some pretty severe allergies. She met with an allergist who told her that there was really no solution that would keep Sarah from feeling so sick, and that she will most likely develop asthma if we keep Pippin in the house. Furthermore, there's a good chance that any children we have will be severely allergic as well, so a dog in the house just won't work.

Sarah and I are both very upset to have to find a new home for the Pip. She has filled our life with joy, despite the occasional mess on our rug or torn-up homework assignment (yes, my dog has actually eaten my homework). However, we feel that this will be the best solution for everyone involved. Sarah can finally start feeling better, we'll be able to prevent future respiratory problems, and Pippin will probably return to the breeder that we bought her from, where she can live with the rest of her Cavalier puppy family in the country (the breeder still owns Pippin's parents and grandparents). So overall, although we are very sad to see her go, we know that this will be for the best.

So, Sarah and I are making our way through this week, and trying to stave off cabin fever. Hopefully things will start to look up for the Petersons as the snow starts to melt. I'll try not to make everyone who is reading this post too sad, so I'll put up some pictures of Sarah's birthday party in a few days!