The Best Dog in the World

Remy crossed over the Rainbow Bridge early Sunday morning. He was in obvious distress and was ready to go. I know he's with my dad. I know he can run and chase small animals again. That gives me tons of comfort. 

His passing has left a huge void in our lives. Our hearts are broken and only time will heal the hurt. One day when we think of Remy, we'll only smile and have happy memories.  We had 13.5 wonderful years with him that we wouldn't trade for anything.

For now, I want to remember everything about him.

We wouldn't have had Remy in our lives if it wasn't for Naseem. She used to be a very picky eater and refused most food except for chicken nuggets, buttered noodles, raw carrots and mangoes. Omid made her a deal: Eat whatever was put in front of her for one month, and he would buy her a dog! It was hard for Nas, but she did it! We were all so excited. She thought she wanted a Bearded Collie, but after visiting the Rose City Dog Show, a Vizsla actually found us and the search was on for a breeder.

 A year later, she finally got her puppy!

Remy loved oranges, blueberries and tomatoes. Every year we bought him his own cherry tomato plant. He'd check it everyday. He'd also check the neighbors tomato plants and blueberry bushes too. 

Remy loved to go on our boat and dive off the back again and again (50 times in a row, no joke), he would get so tired, Omid would have to put a lifejacket on Remy and stay in the water with him to keep Remy from sinking. 

Remy loved the beach. There were so many miles of sand for him to run and run and run.

 Remy also loved to go clamming with us. He never missed a trip. He was a pretty good clammer too.

He always came away with one or two clams.

Remy loved his people and we loved him back. 

Remy was a 55 lb lap dog who loved his snuggle time.

He gave us so much love and affection. 

He was silly, goofy, elegant and noble all at the same time.

RIP my sweet, good boy. I know we'll see you again. 

Make This!!

Make This: Cauliflower Couscous Salad

I absolutely positively love the recipe site, The Kitchn. So many great recipes on there. This salad is one of them. My changes are in red.

To minimize mess and save time, purchase a bag of cauliflower rice from Costco. I bought the bag of florets, but making the couscous made such a mess.

I also doubled the dressing as it didn't make enough the first time and lacked the punch I was looking for. Adding the cumin and cayenne pepper did just the trick! Make this salad. It's delicious! 

Mediterranean Cauliflower Couscous Salad Adapted slightly via The Kitchn 

Serves 4 to 6

• For the chickpeas:
• 1 cups
  (15-ounce) can chickpeas (1 1/2 cups), drained, rinsed, and patted completely dry I used two cans.
• 1 tablespoon
  olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon
  ground cumin double
• 1/4 teaspoon
  salt
• 1/8 teaspoon
  cayenne pepper double

• For the dressing: I doubled the dressing & added cumin and cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons
  freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1
  clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon
  Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon
  salt
• 1/4 cup
  extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper

• For the salad:
• 1
  large head cauliflower, cut into florets I used one bag of Costco Cauliflower florets. The best bet would be to purchase cauliflower rice
• 1 1/2 cups
  cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2
  medium red onion, diced
• 1
  English cucumber, finely chopped
• 1 cup
  fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon
  red pepper flakes
• I left out the pine nuts (1/3 cup) and the Kalamata olives (1/3 cup)
• Salt and pepper

Roast the chickpeas: Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 400°F. Place all the chickpea ingredients in a medium bowl and toss to combine. Transfer to a rimmed parchment-lined baking sheet and spread into a single layer. Roast until slightly browned and crisp, stirring halfway through, 35 to 40 minutes total.

Make the dressing: Place the lemon juice, garlic, mustard, and salt in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking continuously. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed; set aside.

Make the salad: Place the cauliflower florets in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment (work in batches if needed). Pulse until the cauliflower reaches a fine, crumbled consistency. Be careful not to over process; you don't want to purée the cauliflower at all. 

Transfer the cauliflower to a large bowl. Add the remaining salad ingredients and toss to combine. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Top with the roasted chickpeas and serve.

Happy Birthday Nasjoon!!!

Happy 24th birthday, Naseemjoon! We love you so much!!!! 

Happy Birthday Matty!

Happy, happy 22nd birthday Mattyboo!! We love you!!

Soul Burst!

About a year and a half ago, I was watching Oregon Art Beat and saw a feature on Soul Burst cremation art located in Bend, OR.  I filed the information away as I wanted to definitely do something with Remy's ashes after he passed away.

While Remy is still alive and doing very well, I decided that I wanted to send my dad's ashes in.

I chose the pendant with the Caribbean color scheme. I plan to hang it from my rear view mirror.

I received a notification that the Soul Burst would be arriving today.  While I was at the groomer's with Remy, it arrived. Omid was home and took this photo and sent it to me. The Soul Burst arrived at 11:11 a.m.

 If that isn't a sign, I don't know what is!!  I also found this quote on Twitter this morning via Zen Moments:  A coincidence is when God performs a miracle and decides to remain anonymous. ~ Anonymous

Insert with my order

Here is my Soul Burst that I ordered.  I love the blue/green. You can see my dad's ashes spiraled inside.

I absolutely love it and am so happy I ordered one.

Check out www.soulbursts.com

Happy Birthday to Me! Goat Edition

 

Monday I turned 49. I was a little blue  with it being the first birthday without my dad.

Leave it to Omid to cheer me up. He found out about "Goat Grams" and ordered me a goat telegram for my birthday at work. Omid actually ordered the goat gram way back in August and kept it a secret until Monday! Omid let my coworker know of course, so I wouldn't leave the office when the goats arrived.

 

If you can't tell from the look on my face, I was soooooo surprised!!!!!!!!

 

GOATS!!!!!

The goat handler told me that Omid was in fact their very first customer! They were featured on KPTV and before the segment was over, Omid had called and placed an order!

Goats make me happy!!!

 The goat gram was the perfect birthday gift for me. I am still thinking about it days later! Word spread around campus and I had several people contact me asking about how they too can order a goat gram.

Nibbles and Om Nom

 

 Omid gets the Husband of the Year award for sure!!!!!

After the goats had left and I had to get back to work, I mentioned to Sandy that I hoped to receive some kind of sign from my dad. The very next second, Pearl Jam's Just Breathe came on the radio. I knew that was a sign. That song has so much meaning for me. It was one of the songs I chose to be played at my dad's memorial service and comes on the radio/Pandora/iTunes lots of times I think about my dad. Sandy couldn't believe it and we both in happy tears!

Fun gift from my friend Patty

 After work, we collected Lin, Ward, Jeff and Tammie and headed to Ilani casino for dinner and gambling. Lin won $352 at the slots and everyone else lost. I played roulette for the first time & lost my money the first round. I stuck to slots and lost there too!  Omid came out even at 21.

It was a wonderful birthday with so much happiness!

Signs II

My Aunt, Dodie, passed away on August 19 of this year, just six weeks after my dad died.

Catching up & saying goodbye at the same time.

Dodie's celebration of life was on September 17th.  A few nights before Dodie's service, I dreamt about it. My dad was present, along with Dodie and my Grandma. My dad was sitting in the very back row of the church. I was eager to go to Dodie's service to see and catch up with my cousins, but also to actually look for my dad in the back row!

The 17th came, and while I didn't see a vision of my dad sitting in the back row of the church, I did see his presence in the back of every pew!

Lo and behold: next to the hymnals in each pew was a bookmark with my dad's name on it: STEPHEN!

So happy to have a sign from my dad!♥
 

All the cousins at Dodie's celebration of life!
A very happy ending after a sad day.

Last weekend, we hiked Beacon Rock with some friends. I was remembering the last time my dad came along with us. Wouldn't you know, a tiny Monarch butterfly flew around me. ☺

 

For the last three days, each time I've turned my computer on, my dad's celebration of life bulletin has popped up without me even opening Word. I kept wondering why it was already open on the computer when no one had opened the document. This morning it dawned on me: my dad was saying hello!! I immediately said, "Hi Dad!"

 

I told my sisters and Brenda had a story of her own! Her husband Tom was driving through town the other day. The license plate cover of the car in front of him read:

Steve Bailey Chevrolet - Oklahoma!!

 

Wow! Still waiting for B to send me that photo!

 

Dad- we are LOVING these signs! Please don't ever stop communicating!!♥

 

UPDATE: Yesterday, we went crabbing in Ilwaco with friends. As we drove over the Megler bridge, I looked over near the Shipwreck where we fished for many years with my dad. I looked down at my phone to glance at my dad's photo on my screen, and saw the time was exactly 11:11 a.m. I told Omid, "Look at the time!!!" He couldn't believe it! Right when we were looking at our fishing spot. Wow!