More than anything, we hope that Shane’s energy for the new year and how he goes about setting and achieving goals inspires you to move to action to take control of this year with hope and confidence (even if a nerdy spreadsheet may not be the tool that would work for you). You can do great things, and we’re here to help with our ramblings. Happy New Year!

This is less a feature on Alyonka specifically, and more a conversation about dedication, community, spousal support, and building relationships and connecting generations through food. Although the food itself is remarkable on its own, what’s more interesting is how it introduced us to an amazing intergenerational and cross-cultural story. Elena is a truly wonderful human and an exemplar of hard work and pursuing your passion to the benefit of a community. We discuss how we met, her immigration and establishment in the United States, starting a business at the onset of Covid, how she sees food and the experience of sharing it and eating it, her deserved success in being featured on national television, and the support and hostility she has experienced as a Russian-American during the course of the Ukrainian-Russian war. Integral to all of this is her relationship with Dan. It’s inspiring to see how proud and supportive he is of her and how his deep commitment has magnified her success.

We hope you enjoy this episode. And with that, we bring you a conversation with Elena and Dan DeYoung.

First up, we talk about the notorious “man cold” and why exactly women get, um, let’s say, “annoyed” when their men start to stifle. And contrary to popular belief, it isn’t about the actual sickness.

Next up, just for funsies, let’s chat PMS, or as we like to say, “Code Red”. There is a delicate balance between women experiencing menstruation and PMS and their spouses being able to safely address it.

What you might not expect is that the Man Cold and Code Red have a lot in common. At least we think so.

Throw in discussion on expectations, resentment, and Gen-Z slang, and you have your next couples chat ready to go.

In this conversation we discuss some ways to make dating a little easier: tools for establishing expectations, listening to each other's needs and figuring out the purpose of a date night, how needs for time spent together change over time, and how sometimes a restaurant choice is so much more about the experience you have as a couple than it is about the food that’s coming to your table.

We end with a rapid fire list of restaurants across the Treasure Valley to help you narrow down your next night out on the town.

In this episode we swap stories of an all-to-short summer and get some great ideas for where we want to explore next. All of us spent time in northern Idaho- all the way up to Canada and Bonner’s Ferry, to Priest Lake, the historic town of Wallace, and traveling through Moscow and the surrounding farming communities. Katie explored southeastern Idaho and regales us with tales of Lava Hot Springs, Maple Grove Hot Springs, and Swan Valley. She even made it up to the lodge at Grandjean! We also make time to celebrate Katie’s recent marriage and talk relationship insights from a newlywed and advice from seasoned veterans.

Make sure you live vicariously through Katie and follow her on the Gram at @travelingspud, and take notes on this episode for ideas for your next in-state getaway.

You’ll hear in this conversation that we have different experiences and perspectives, and don’t necessarily agree on all points, but we’re fully supportive of the idea of consciously and intentionally managing your time as a couple and helping each other find individual fulfillment.

We’ve been able to find a great balance that works for us, and hope our experiences help you to tackle this important issue.

We’re charged up and excited for this year, and we hope this episode energizes you too!