The Beautiful Dachshund

Is there a cuter puppy?





I made this little shirt for Bridger tonight. It is a sort of going away/late Christmas gift. I originally did it with fabric but I ruined the whole thing and had to start all over. I personally think the stitches look better on a dachshund anyway.

Bridger found the design on wikipedia a while ago. Luckily I printed it right away, the post has been deleted. I wish I could give more credit to the person who designed such a charming little dog.

The Great 2008: Year End List (Part I)

I’ve revamped my list for 2008. I’ve added some categories, I’ve removed some. There are no runners up this year, there are no (s). You know like best idea(s), job(s). I have forced myself to really zero in on the very best and worst of the 2008. This is all for the best.

Best Restaurant (Fast-Casual): Tacos Nacos. Let me first use adjectives only: affordable, quick, delicious, wonderful, friendly, delicious. Now let me string that together for you. This restaurant has the best service in town, awesome Mexican food (especially the tacos and nachos), it’s affordable, it’s quick, it is really good.

Worst Restaurant (Sit down): Ganesh Indian. As noted earlier Indian food is tricky. This place had a cold atmosphere, ridiculously small portions and food that wasn’t anything to shout about. I spent about $12 on two small pieces of chicken and a quarter piece of naan, I’m not kidding.

Best Restaurant (Sit-Down): Royal India. Indian food is a tricky thing. It is usually quite pricey and the amount of food you get is totally unpredictable; sometimes you will get one cube of chicken and a bowl of sauce for $14.95, other times you will get lots of chicken and in a large bowl of sauce for $9.95. Royal India is the King of Indian food. They offer large portions that are not only incredibly delicious, they are affordable. Royal India is a must.

Worst Restaurant (Sit down): Thai Siam. This is honestly the worst Thai food in the state. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I’m quite sure the pad thai is nothing more than a bowl of rice noodles and ketchup. DO NOT GO.

Best Restaurant Overall: Tacos Nacos. It’s just so good. Did I mention that most menu items are gluten free?




Worst Restaurant Overall: Thai Siam. At least the food at Ganesh is edible. I am telling you the food at Thai Siam is not edible.



Best Device: Canon Powershot SD1000. I haven’t really purchased too many devices this year. In fact I am going to go ahead and say I absolutely haven’t. But I got my Canon for my birthday last (2007) December. This is a great camera. Canon really makes a good product. There isn’t one specific feature that makes this device stand out, it just is a shining example of an excellent camera.

Worst Device: Apple wireless keyboard and mouse. I got these late in the year 2007 so I wasn’t aware of their battery sucking nature. And as soon as they suck the batteries away my computer is right on top of telling me at 2:30 in the morning. I wish I had gone with the wired option.



Best Idea: Buying this quilt pattern. It just looks so pretty. I bought loads of fabric, I am talking a box full of gorgeous fabrics. This is going to be good.

Worst Idea: This quilt pattern. Will I ever be able to finish it? I want to, but it is so hard for me to focus on a quilt that will take me ages to complete. I am so good at starting things, I really hope I can finish this one.

Best Cat: For the third year in a row, Bosley David Winegar. Bosley. This animal does something great everyday. And let me tell you, he has learned a lot of words and phrases, examples: “Up!”, “Do you want a treat?”, “Come into the bathroom,” “Are you hungry?”, “Do you want to go outside?”. I feel like he is getting smarter by the day.



Best Dog: Max. Max has had a really good year. He hasn’t had any accidents in my room, and he hasn’t ruined any of my possessions. I feel like that alone makes him dog of the year. He is also really a grateful animal, he loves absolutely any attention or any scrap of food, sweet little thing.



Worst Pet: I love pets. Moderately sized pets. The following do not belong anywhere near a house: mice, rats, hamsters, (rodents in general), birds, snakes, ferrets, spiders, lizards. I think you get the picture. Cats and dogs are the only creatures that should be domesticated.

Best Concert: Neko Case. I didn’t go to many concerts this year. But I imagine that if I had gone to several concerts I would still pick the Neko Case concert. This was a free affair and once again, even if I had paid $45 or even $95 for this show I know it would still be the best concert of the year. Neko Case has an awesome voice and puts on a fantastic show. Let me guide you here to take a peek (thanks Jordan).

Worst Concert: Broke Social Scene. It could have been my impending illness, it could have been the thousands of people smoking at a non-smoking event, it could have been that it just wasn’t a good concert. I didn’t really enjoy myself and I am glad I only paid zero dollars for it.

Best Movie (For Everyone): Wall-E. Another stunning, yes stunning Pixar picture. Wall-E evokes nearly every emotion. That little robot couldn’t be sweeter.

Best Movie (Maybe not for everyone, but for most): Slumdog Millionaire. I loved this film. I loved, loved, loved the little kids in it. I really just loved this movie. Could I be any clearer?



Worst Movie: Indiana Jones. I didn’t expect much, I really didn’t. But I honestly couldn’t believe how dumb this film actually was. I asked Bridger if we could leave the theater several times.

Best Book: Love, Lucy. Some really wonderful people gave this book to me for my birthday (December 2007). This book is a sparkling example of a fabulous autobiography. Lucille Ball, one of my favorite women, is fascinating. Included in the book are some great pictures. I will probably be reading this little number again in the coming year.

The Great 2008: Year End List (Part II)

Best Part: The exact moment I found out I got into nursing school. I got the mail, noticed an envelope from UVU and threw the other mail who knows where. I then proceeded to scream at the top of my lungs. It was a pretty exciting moment. Think of how many gross things I am going to learn about!




Worst Part: Between mid July and November 11. I had a stomachache for about 98% of this time. Plus, I had a whole slew of other symptoms (sleep deprivation sleeping at most 2 hours a night, numbness in my fingers, pain in my bones, headache, numbness in my stomach, on and on and on). I had to have a scope put down my throat, which ended my life goal of not ever being put under. Thank heavens this is behind me.

Best Album: Islands’ Arm’s Way. I love it. When I listen to it I feel like I have been given extra energy. I don’t think a single track goes wrong.

Worst Album: Weezer’s Weezer (Red Album). I didn’t expect anything and I was still disappointed. What an embarrassing piece of work. Honestly, these men need to STOP.

Best Trip: Chicago. Chicago is a charming place. And, it was just my mom and me and we had a pretty good time. Plus, I got to ride on a real train.



Best Gift I received: I Love Lucy THE COMPLETE SERIES. Thank you Bridger. Thank you. I will never need to watch another TV show again. And the package this set comes in is unbelievable.

Best Job: Ballet and tap teacher. This is a great job. I have a lot of really good students.

Worst Job: I have only had my Ballet/Tap teaching job this year and I have loved every second. However if I had to pick a worst moment at my job to my list I would add the following: A young (4 year old) girl taking her tap shoes off and throwing them at me and then proceeding to scream at the tip-top of her lungs; all because she didn’t want to do shuffle ball change. The same young girl running up to me in the middle of practicing the Christmas dance and hitting me in the face over and over and over.

Best Store: J.Crew. I really love J.Crew. I really love the J.Crew outlet too.

Worst Store: Joann Fabric. Oh my. If you want to waste a lot of time go to Joann. You can wait for 40 minutes to get your fabric cut (if you can find some that is decent), then you can wait 40 minutes for the woman who cuts your fabric to figure out her little machine that adds up your total, then you can wait 40 minutes in line to pay. This is all if you can even find anything worth buying.




Best Fashion Industry Idea: Dark Purple.

Worst Fashion Industry Idea: 1980s style clothing. Stupid. The fluorescent colors, the stupid designs, the stupid clothes.

Best City: Chicago. Like I said, it’s a charming place. Lots of rivers and flowers and city-prettiness. A fabulous place. Go there.


Worst City: Draper. I just don’t feel like this city is very well planned. And the kids in my neighborhood always run around in the street while their parents stand on the sidewalk chatting.



Best Candy: Does anyone realize how much I love candy? The best candy I tried this year was Haribo Gold-Bears. I don’t even know what possessed me to try a Haribo Gold-Bear because I thought I hated gummy bears. In fact I think I knew I hated gummy bears. But I love Gold-Bears. They are an honest-to-goodness delicious candy confection.

Worst Candy: Hershey’s Kiss Mint Truffle. How in the world do you ruin a mint truffle. Honestly. I think in about 5th grade I made mint truffles and they turned out. How does Hershey’s ruin a truffle? They fill a waxy chocolate with minty, green goo.

Best Snack: Sundried Tomato and Parmesan Riceworks chips. Whether you can eat gluten or not, this is such a good snack. I could easily eat a large size bag within two or three days. I highly recommend this snack. The only places here in Utah I have found these chips are Super Target and Costco.



Worst Snack: Salsa Fresca Riceworks chips. Not good. My expectations were so high for these and they were a total let down. They have a really gross flavor.

Best Find: Bridger came across Sam Cooke live at the Harlem Square Club. This album makes me feel like no concert I go to will ever be exciting enough. Sam Cooke blew me away this time. In fact, Sam Cooke always blows me away. Thank you Bridger for finding this.