Under the Sea

As I mentioned in a past post, I have a new hobby-fish keeping! It's an odd hobby for sure, but I really enjoy it.

When Dex and I got engaged, we got a betta fish named Pete. Pete lived for just under a year which is quite a long time considering how clueless we were to keeping fish. After Pete died, I wanted to get a slightly larger tank so I could keep a betta and some frogs. I started looking into aquatic fish and frog care and got hooked. Next thing you know, Dexter came home to this:


A 3 foot long, 20 gallon fish tank. I found it on KSL.com for 50 bucks. Lucky for me, Dex is pretty forgiving and understanding. Which is good because I've spent a small fortune on fish. Here's a few of my beauties:This is one of my otocinclus catfish (I have 2). They are my favorite fish in the tank. They stick to things with their mouth. It reminds me of a suction cup. They eat algae and veggies.
This is one of my two African Dwarf Frogs. The one in the picture is male (the other one is female) They are really funny to watch. They like to burrow in the gravel or climb the plants. They are rather hard to care for though. African Dwarf Frogs are nearly blind, so I have to hand feed these guys or they would starve.




This is a horrible picture of some of my tetra. I have 2 shoals (that means a group of freshwater fish, saltwater groups are called schools) of tetra: 5 Black Phantom Tetra (which is the brown and black fish at the top of the picture) and 5 Glowlight Tetra (which are the orange and silver streaks in the picture). My tetra are too fast to get a good picture of. Sorry.This is my Dwarf Flame Gourami. He's probably the prettiest guy in the tank.

The title of prettiest fish, however, has to go to my doubletail betta named Patriot. Patriot is in a tank by himself since he doesn't play nice with others.

Little Adventures

Wednesday is my favorite day of the week. It's Dexter's and my date night. Yes, you read that right-a married couple actually has a regular weekly date night. When we got engaged, we studied a marriage prep manual together. The book quoted Pres. Monson who encouraged husbands and wives to have a weekly date which, he promised, would be a great strength to their marriage. And it's true. Date night has been a great strength to our marriage.

The problem is keeping date night fresh so we don't just end up sitting in a dark movie theater every week. So Dex and I have started going to random places that we see along the road. You know those little places that you've never gone in but have seemed to be there forever? Or a little really odd place that seems to have just popped up over night? Those little hole-in-the-wall, route 66 places? Dexter and I go there.

I tried to find pictures of these places to put in this post, but there aren't any on the web. So sorry, You are stuck with my descriptions of a few sweet little oddities we have discovered:

Gallery Stroll
Who knew that Ogden City's art galleries stay open late and have free admission once a month? The first Friday of every month from 6-9 pm is the Ogden Gallery Stroll. Most of the art galleries open new exhibits and stay open late for art enthusiasts (like me). They even invite the artists to attend so you have a chance to meet them. You can find a map of the participating galleries in the Go section of the Standard Examiner.

The Hi Hat Diner
There is a horrid eyesore on 1900 W. in Sunset called the Hi Hat Diner. It is sandwiched between a pawn shop and a credit loan. It either looks abandoned or like a run down bar. In the window display there are two hideous stuffed bunnies that have troll masks on. Out front, there is a creepy dummy with a sign that says open. One morning, I begged Dexter to take me there. When we went in, we were astounded. The interior is the perfect little 50s diner straight out of the movie Grease. Soda machine at the bar, black and white checked linoleum, jukebox in the corner. . . The owner and cook (same person) is one of the friendliest people you'll ever meet. He's super nice and always happy. And the food is AMAZING! The breakfasts are some of the best ever, made just the way you want it, fresh right in front of you. It's so odd that such a horrid exterior holds such an amazing little secret inside.


Some other great little odd restaraunts: Beez Cafe in Roy, A Taste of India in Layton, The Firehouse in Centerville (it's worth the drive, just for their amazing cookies!), The Mongolian Grill in Ogden, Greek Islands Broiler in Roy, and Burger Bar in Roy (of course! Can't leave them out)


Little oddities you should check out: The Union Station Museum, Bird World/Pet Village in Bountiful, 25th Street in Ogden, Smith and Edwards, Endzone in Layton, and Bingham Cyclery in Roy.