flashback friday: {dominoe}

i've mentioned a few times what an awesome dog i grew up with.  dominoe was my 4H dog {yes, i was awesome & in 4H, thankyouverymuch} & was the best furry little friend a girl coulda had for thirteen years.  i got him as a puppy at twelve & had to put him down just before my 26th birthday.  he was with me through middle school, high school, college, & marriage.

anywho, if you're not a dog person this might be boring to you but if you are, you'll probably understand.  it's interesting to me how even though he's been gone over two years now, i still miss that little guy.  i can still hear the way he would greet us when we got home, the noises he would make when his ear was rubbed, & the smell of his leathery puppy feet.

i'm not sure when we'll be ready for another dog, & when that time does come, i don't think he'll be an indoor dog.  he definitely won't be sleeping on our bed, to say the least.  but i definitely want a dog for parker to grow up with... the bond between a kid & their dog is a very very important thing.

so, here's a little trip down memory lane featuring my bestest furry little friend, dominoe.

circa 1996.  i'm fourteen, he's one.

left: circa 2000.  i'm eighteen, he's five.  right: the college years.

where dominoe slept in my apartment at college.

dominoe put up with a lot from amylee on Vimeo.

dominoe came with me as part of the deal when sam & i got married.  good thing he stole sam's heart too.

circa july 2008.  one month before we had to put dominoe down.

dominoe's paw prints.  taken before we left the vet's office when he was put down.

{read about why we had to put dominoe down HERE}

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flashback friday: camping at the beach

ever heard of a yurt?

i hadn't until sam suggested we go camping in one early april 2007.  almost four years ago.  one of our cheapest, least posh, and closest-to-home getaways yet.  this is only about two hours from where we live.  it was by far one of the most fun trips we've ever taken.

this trip was also the first (& only) time i ever saw a guy get tazered by a cop. different story, different day.

who doesn't love camping?  but in a space heater, open to the sky, wood framed, canvas topped, view of the stars, queen bed, kind of way?  perfection.

plus, we had all the perks of a normal camp trip.  hot dogs, s'mores, sam's bbq ribs over a firepit, donuts, chocolate milk. mmmm yeah, i like camp food.

hiking & our sweet little dog, dominoe.

SAM + AMY = S AM Y = SAMY.  get it?

oh to be young & in love.


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meet amy wang + a photo challenge

here is today's piece of "no-mom talk monday" random bit of trivia.

wang is my nickname.  well, "amy wang" is my nickname.  the nickname was actually given to me by some of sam's friends from high school before we were even officially dating & it's stuck ever since.  sam calls me "amy wang", "wang", or "wang sue" at least two or three times a day.  we have friends that definitely call me "wang" more than "amy".  i won't go into too many boring details about the specifics of how this name came about, but it does involve me looking asian.  no, seriously.  i've been asked by at least four different people under different circumstances if i was part asian.  no, seriously.

in fact, the most notable time was when sam was visiting me at my parent's & he was playing basketball with a group of guys i had gone to high school with.  one of them, whom i didn't know very well, came up to me & said, "are you kim nishimoto's sister?"  i said, "kim nishimoto??  no!  she's japanese!!"

thus, the nickname.  but, for the record... i'm not asian.  and now you know.

if you feel like letting the world know a little more about you that doesn't involve your mom-hat, hit the badge above & link up with courtney's no mom-talk monday.

now for the paper mama's photo challenge
this week's challenge is "black & white."

meet dominoe.  best. dog. ever.  when we had to put dominoe down two years ago, i had had him as my dog longer in my life than not.  meaning, i got him as a puppy when i was twelve, & he lived to be thirteen.  thirteen years of my life were spent loving & caring for this guy.

he was my 4H dog for four years.  he went to college with me.  he was adopted by sam & came with me in my new home when i got married.  but then he got old, he got weak, & he got to where life was harder for him than it should have to be.  so we had to say goodbye.

this picture was taken about a month before we put dominoe down.  it's pretty obvious that right up to his last day, despite all his aches & pains, he was a super happy dog.  i still miss this guy.

but i figure, what better subject for a black & white photo than my favorite black & white spotted little guy?

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29 Weeks & I'm a Super Fan

Every now and then I have to remind the world what a huge Cougar I am (and no, not the kind that likes younger men). And when times are tough (can you say Football season 2009? *tear*) I even occasionally have to remind myself. But I have a feeling the winds are a-changin. Yup, you can expect some pretty good things out of WSU B-ball these next few years. Mark my words.

So I was just thinking about two years ago this weekend Sam and I embarked on one of our Top 10 funnest road trips. We spent Valentine's Weekend 2008 as WSU Cougar Basketball groupies.

The Cougs were playing the Oregon schools and we decided to hit up both games and visit the coast, too. It was a blast. And WSU won both games... so worth it. This was also the year we made it into the Sweet 16. Man, those were the days.

I love me some Cougar Basketball. And this proves it:

Yup. We waited outside WSU's locker room for a good hour or so waiting for the guys to come out so I can have my obligatory groupie moment. It was amazing. And Sam was so proud. (Or maybe just extremely embarrassed... yeah, that's probably closer).

Go Cougs.

And, one last picture for good measure:

We had Dominoe boarded that weekend at a kennel where he came home all stinky and dirty. He was thrown into the bath and came out looking like this:

Ahh, I miss that little guy.

29 Weeks

So I've been pregnant for a few weeks OVER half a year now!! I'm getting big and pregnancy is getting painful. My body apparently doesn't handle all these changes too well, and most days I feel like an 80 year old woman, but it's still been a blast.

The baby things are starting to pile up around here and the heap of baby boy clothes is growing. And as much as I promised myself I would stop, I just can't help but buy the occasional pair of baby boy board shorts or little itty bitty miniature polo shirts for Sundays. Watch out ladies, this boy's gonna be a heartbreaker!

Until then, he's just making his momma grow... and I still have 11 more weeks. These pictures are getting more and more painful to put up! Hello not-so-cute-stage of pregnancy, my name is Amy. We'll be getting to know each other well.

Dominoe - We miss you!

Ok, so today has been hard. Why lie about it?? We got out of the house yesterday and spent some time in the 'Couve w/ Jodi and Jason. That was probably a good thing. However, a quiet Sunday afternoon in the house which has historically been Sam, Amy, and Dominoe family time has been rough. No little dog going in and out of the house with Sam while he BBQs, no dog curled up at the foot of the couch during our family nap, and no Sunday evening walk. We miss him a lot! We just keep telling ourselves, he is in a much better place. Isn't it amazing though, how quickly we forget all the bad things? I even thought to myself today, was cleaning up his messes 6 times a day really that bad? Yeah, it was... considering it was occurring because it was either too painful for him to stand up and go to the door, or because he had just plain lost neurological function of his hind end. It was for the best.

Let me just tell you guys... enjoy what you have!! You will not realize how much you love something until it's gone. Really. All the good times really make the hard times worth it. Definitely. Don't set yourself up for a situation where you wonder, "did I give everything I could have??" Cliche, but true.

To everyone that has left comments, sent emails, given phone calls, or drawn pictures and sent them in the mail ( - Thanks Jodi & Briannda ;) it is truly appreciated. Even though his little presence will be missed for a good long time, I know every day will get easier. We'll realize a bit of freedom that comes with not having a dog for a while, and when the time is right... we'll find another little furry friend to bless our lives. We're really trying to focus on how fun he was to have and celebrate his life. That's much more fun to think about!! I mean, I had this dog since I was 12! He had been through so much with me and just absolutely loved us unconditionally right up to the end.

Before we left the hospital, we took some prints of his little paws. I am so happy my sister Heidi helped me come up with the idea because I love this little piece of him that is left with us in the house. I'm not quite sure what we're going to do with them just yet... I think we'll probably put them in a frame with a picture and his little "Dominoe" dog tag and find somewhere we can put it up.

Seeing these little feet make me so happy! I guess Alfred Lord Tennyson (yes, I looked it up!) knew what he was talking about when he said, "'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

We love you and will miss you Dominoe!

A rough day ahead.

Well, there are many of you reading this who have had the privilege of making the acquaintance of my little spotted friend, Dominoe. Unfortunately, he's gotten pretty old and life isn't so fun for him anymore. We think he's in a lot of pain, although he doesn't really show it. But I reckon that hardly being able to walk and falling when you try to run just can't be a good time. He's pretty much lost all control of his bodily functions which makes living with him pretty hard, but what he lacks in cleanliness he makes up for in personality and love. I think that's what's gotten him this far. This dog has the biggest heart in the whole world... He's gotta be in a whole lot of pain, but he would never let us know it. He still makes his crazy "Chewbacca" sounds when we come home, and wants to be nowhere else except exactly where we are. Even as I type this, he's curled up at my feet not having any idea where he's getting loaded up in the car to go do in about 1/2 an hour.

Our appointment with the vet is at noon today, and it's not gonna be easy. For us, anyways. I know how peaceful and painless it is for the dogs but our pain doesn't go away near that fast. It's gonna be much much harder on us than him. That selfishness is also probably what kept him alive this long... why have we kept him alive this long to be in pain when he walks, when I'm sure he'd much rather be running? He can barely make it down the stairs off the back porch to go do his chores without falling. But every night after his 7:30 dinner, he's standing at the front door waiting to go on his walk.

He's given me 13 amazing years... that's more of my life with him than without. I got him when I was 12, and he was my 4H dog for 4 years. He's always been such a show stopper, and everyone stops to look at and pet the Dalmatian. He takes it all in stride... it's just another day of being a gorgeous dog. He's given us so much unconditional love, and I couldn't ask for any more loyalty out of anyone. I know he's going to a much better place, where he can run and jump again and play with Kody, Lucky, and Barry.

Ok, I've got to go... thanks for the support everyone, we definitely know he's in a better place and I am already excited for him to find his running legs again!

-Amy

Dominoe
1995-2008

Early Morning Adventure

This weekend is the 3rd Annual Nielson Family Reunion. It is taking place in exciting Clarkston, WA... Sam's homeland. We had to work Thursday and wanted to be there as early as possible on Friday, so rather than leaving after work for the 6 hour drive and arriving at 1 or 2 am, we opted to get a few hours of sleep and set out first thing in the morning.

Well, apparently my definition of early morning is a bit different than Sam's. I was thinking we'd leave around 4 or 5ish, no sweat, I get up that early to go to the gym all the time. Sam on the other hand had his mind set on getting up at 2am and being on the road by 2:30. He's a bit eager for some Nielson family bonding. I said, more power to ya Samm-o, long as you take that first shift of driving. And that's exactly what happened. We were all packed up the night before and set out at 2:30 am in PJs, with Dominoe and a bag of Costco muffins, Friendship Bread, and assorted fruit in tow. I love this kinda stuff cuz it makes me feel like a kid again, and like we're on some sort of crazy adventure.

You know who else likes this stuff?

Dominoe!!


I already have all kinds of pics from stuff we've done since we've been here... but that will have to be saved for another post!