Best of 2009: Web Tool (huh?) and New Food

Gwen Bell asks what my favorite Web tool from 2009 is: "It came into your work flow this year and now you couldn't live without it. It has simplified or improved your online experience."

Ok.  This one shows my ignorance because I'm not even sure what she means by this.  (I'm laughing right now.) I'll excuse this ignorance by saying that because of the nature of teaching, I don't spend most of my time on the Internet.

But I did get a new computer, and although this doesn't really count as a web tool, I'm going to say that the new OS is pretty fun and will count as my new "web tool." I like how it handles open windows, and I like the gadgets I can put on my desktop.

I'm definitely going to have to check Gwen Bell's web page and see what other people write for this one.

For the catch-up entry, I will answer her question about favorite new food. Although Vietnamese food isn't new to me, Pho Country is new to Carson, and we love it.  I love the freshness and lightness of Vietnamese food complete with fresh basil and cilantro and tastey broths. And oh! The spring rolls. Plus, this restaurant is surprising affordable - $6 for a basic pho dish. Compared to the other pho restaurant, this one has lots of choices - three pages of options. I get something different every time, which is another reason I'm throwing Pho Country into the favorite new food category, even though it's a restaurant, not a food. Sunday, I got the stir-fried tofu. It's fried in a chili pepper sauce that is yummy - I only wish it were little spicier.

Besties: Trip and Restaurant Experience

So I listen to this podcast called "Zen is Stupid," which you might think is odd for a Buddhist-type like me, but the title is misleading. The two gabbers, Gwen and Patrick, are Buddhist, although their podcasts are not always about Buddhism, per se.

I was intrigued by their most recent podcast in which Gwen explained her December blogger challenge of bests. For each day of the month, she posts a topic for which you can blog your best of. I will start with the first two topics: best trip and best restaurant moment.

I will sum up the trip in pictures, rather than a rambling bloggy message:

Quick digression: Can Blogger not figure out an easier way to post and move photos in a blogpost? Good Lord!

Now to my best restaurant experience: I'm sure all you parents out there get this, but most of my restaurant experiences involve crayons and/or play areas, which means I don't really get a lot of great meals out. I'm usually pretty excited when I can sneak a bite of my son's chicken nuggets without my husband seeing. But I was lucky enough to get two really tasty meals out: one at Z Bistro, a french bistro in town, and the other at La Strada, a famous Italian restaurant in Reno.

All I ordered at Z Bistro was borscht, but it was lovely to the eyes and to the taste buds. I also got to enjoy the company of my mom and my aunt Ilse.

My lamb at La Strada was heavenly. Pure heaven, I tell you. It didn't hurt that I had a great glass of wine to go with it and that the entire evening (dinner and the Bill Maher show) were a complete surpriseby my husband.

So, more to come later.