Instead of a general year-end recap, I have decided to make note of the lessons learned through dog ownership, plus my favorite things from 2009.

– Do not leave anything on the counter unless you want a dog to eat it

– Best albums were by: Phoenix, the Arctic Monkeys, Camera Obscura, plus the records that Richard has brought home from Deep Grove.  Tranquility has been my favorite of that batch, or of the artists I had never heard of before anyway.

-Do not leave anything on the coffee table unless you want a dog to chew it.

-Do not leave your coffee unattended unless you want a dog to drink it.

-Best movies were: Inglourius Basterds, Drag Me to Hell, The Julia parts of Julie and Julia, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Where the Wild Things Are, and probably Away We Go, since I watched that twice and I thought it was darling both times.

–Chuck Klosterman’s review of the reissued albums of the Beatles, “a 1960s band so obscure that their music is not even available on iTunes.”

-My conquering of various baked goods: pizzas, buttermilk biscuits, wheat bread.

-Do not leave unbaked goods on the counter unless you want a dog to walk around with a ball of pizza dough in her mouth.

-Making better use of my years-old iPod Nano by listening to Podcasts all the time.  My favorites are The Splendid Table and Planet Money.  I still can’t be bothered to read books, and only want to listen to Podcasts and read magazines.

-I did manage to read a few books, my favorite being the Essential Dykes to Watch Out For.  It was overwhelming to read it so quickly and go through two decades of the characters’ lives, but I loved it.  And miss it, I hope it continues at some point.

-Eating more BBQ sandwiches this year than at any point in my life.  A&R BBQ is probably why Richard and I want to return to Memphis.  Also, Tennessee in general.  America is great.

-Dogs have internal clocks.  It’s really annoying that at 6 a.m. Bunk goes from asleep to on the prowl for anything that she can swipe off a counter or table top and chew on until I wake up.  It’s annoying but also nice that she’s so predictable.

-Dogs have also taught me that cats are stupid.  You can’t correct their behavior, and instead of competing for affection they just become terrible and destructive. But it is fun when the dog stops the couch scratching.  She’s my hero.

-HOLY SHIT, A SQUIRREL.  GUYS, LOOK. THERE IT IS.  OH GOD. OH GOD.  Is what I assume our dog is saying.

Ugh, that’s all.  2009 has been awesome.  So awesome that I hope that some of it spills over into next year.  Year-end recaps!  Now we just have a few more weeks left, during which I will balance my checkbook and frown and wait patiently for two babies to be born (not mine).

UPDATE: Someone mentioned that the wedding didn’t make the list. Uh, best thing of the decade?  Also, I wanted to keep sentimental stuff off the list in case coworkers find my bjournal and learn that I have a heart.