2010

The flavors of 2010 were: Rosemary and Sea Salt and Caramel and Sea Salt. Sea salt obviously was BIG! Hamburgers were too. This year we got some new chains in Phoenix, including Fatburger, Smashburger, Five Guys (and a few others). The rosemary/sea salt fries at Delux are some of the best, the ones at Smashburger are similar (rosemary/garlic) and good too, but the favorite restaurant this year has gotta be Fatburger. We even went to the one in Hollywood, CA while on vacation just to experience it. Every time we eat there, I think about how much my mom would have loved the "Fat Fries."

The sounds of 2010 were: Muse, Kings of Leon, A Silent Film, The Temper Trap and Vampire Weekend, among many others. I haven't listened to music I like this much in years. Thanks to blip.fm and 8tracks.com, and of course satellite radio, I have been exposed to so much more music than I would have heard on local radio. I love it!

Favorite stations included FirstWave and AltNation on XM Satellite radio. When we bought our car in late 2009, they included the satellite service and have been extending the introductory rate ever since. About five months at a time. I'll call and tell them I want to cancel so they extend the intro rate. I think our days are numbered though. Howard Stern made a new deal so they will have to pay him and where will they get the money? Damned Howard.

The sights of 2010 included baseball, baseball, baseball. LA Dodgers and Angels at their homes in the summer and earlier during spring training at ours. We went on the Ghost Tour on The Queen Mary and went to Universal Studios where our favorite ride was The Simpsons Ride. I even visited Santa Barbara for the first time ever. Didn't see Oprah though.

The movies this year included "Burlesque," one of my favorites, even with Cher's pumped up lips. I went to the movies alone for the first time this year. I didn't really like the new "Alice In Wonderland," even with Johnny Depp. I enjoyed "Ramona and Beezus" more than I thought I would. I didn't think you could get any cuter than Selena Gomez and Ginnifer Goodwin, but you add Joey King: Cuteness Overload. I also enjoyed "Diary of A Wimpy Kid" very much. This was one of Joaquin's favorite books. "Marmaduke" gets honorable mention too. I hope they make more movies like these.

I got through a most challenging book this year, a Beatrix Potter biography. I know what you're thinking, didn't she write children's books? Yeah, but you don't know about her fungi stage like I do. It took me forever to get through and although I wasn't forced to read it, I felt like I needed to finish it for some reason and was glad I did.

We got a new dog this year. His name was Charlie and I almost changed it until my sister started calling him, Charlie Murphy. He's some sort of terrier mix (possibly Schnauzer and Scottie). Such a good dog. He sits in the car the entire ride, unlike Jerry who will jump everywhere if given a chance, and he walks well on the leash. His only problem is marking as he has a bit of a Napoleon complex. And gas. I need to find a food that doesn't make him "pfftt."

Twitter and Facebook were big for me again this year. Writing all this nonsensical information in approximately 140 characters for who knows what reason? To remember? For Joaquin? I'm not sure, but I sure did it a lot. I find it interesting how you can come to care so much about people you have never met in real life, in 140 chars or less. Believe me, it happens.

Here's looking at a good new year...2011, ready or not.