Christmas Day photos

Roxie kept eyeballing the turkey, and was waiting for Taylor to drop a piece in her direction. She kept licking her lips. Haha.



Roxie wanted to make sure no one forgot about her on Christmas.



Part of dinner.



Taylor completely mutilated the turkey. LOL. I can't give him too hard of a time because it was his first time carving a turkey, and he did it to help me out.





He kept asking me not to take photos. That's just like telling a child not to eat candy. It just wasn't going to happen.

Supposedly, it's the happiest time of the year, but...

With the holidays comes good cheer; well, at least that's how it's supposed to work. It never fails to shock me how the marketing of Christmas and holidays can make people go crazy! I'm not talking about cute crazy where it's like, OK I can understand where he/she is coming from. No, I'm talking about the OMG what in the heck is going on with that woman over there!

I recently went to my local Old Navy to switch out a product I had just bought. I was standing in line, which happened to be rather large since it's two days after Christmas. The cashier did exactly what she is supposed to do, in my opinion. She was pleasant (despite the amount of unhappy customers complaining about their recent Christmas woes). She called up an additional cashier over her radio, and the second cashier came up. The second cashier said the all-time famous phrase: "I can help the next person over here." Just as the Earth orbits the sun, the third person in line runs to the newly opened register like a shotgun went off at the start of a race. As a cashier, myself, I really could care less because I know how uncomfortable it is to point out the frustration. The amazing part wasn't the woman sprinting for the register, rather, it was the woman who was actually next in line that started swearing up a storm! I couldn't believe the words and phrases coming out of this woman's mouth as she vented to every customer in line. She was making a point to make sure the register thief could hear her. Then, on top of that, she starts yelling at the clerk.

"If I was in your spot, I would have yelled at her to get back in line because she's really not the 'next' person," the woman yelled. Well, lady, let's face it: you're not the one behind the register. Any cashier will tell you that unfortunately, it is more customer service friendly to not point out the rude gesture. Also, it is not only very uncomfortable to have you yelling at us, but it is just as rude to do what you're doing as it was to steal the spot in line.

I have a very short fuse when it comes to people telling me how to do my job. I've been a cashier for over eight years, and not a day goes by that someone has the ingenious answer to fix all of my apparent shortcomings. If people would just take a second to say thank you instead of yelling at the clerk, since that seems to be the convenient thing to do, then it would be a happier season. Please realize we aren't paid enough to deal with it.

My kids

I'm blessed every day to come home to my loving husband and my two kids. These two girls keep my life entertaining, and they always seem to remind me how humorous life is. Here's a few pictures so you can share in the laughs.


My oldest baby girl, Callie. I raised her since she was itty bitty. :)




My youngest baby girl, Roxie. She was Taylor's wedding gift.




I bought her a jacket before she went to the groomers.




She really does have the Royal Attitude, just like the jacket said. :)




She finally got groomed! I love how she sticks all her legs straight out.




These two hardly ever get along, but they do take a very cute picture together.




My mom bought her a hoodie. I know it's kind of a guy-ish one, but she looks super cute in it either way.

2 down, 1 to go

I've found the perfect remedy for those boring nights since all the season finales are starting to add up: actually studying for my finals. :)

I'm excited to say that I have successfully completed two different finals, and I just have one more to go...Even though I feel like I might go crazy if I cram anything else into my head. You know that point where your eyes start to water, your head starts to ache, and all the words start to blur on the page? That's where I'm at. And I still have a 250 question final. (That's the only time I can truly say I'm glad it's on a scantron and not short answer.)

In the end I am keeping my head up. After all, it is just Monday.

Dixie Sun newspaper white elephant party

It never fails to impress me at the end of the semester when I see the camaraderie and professionalism of the campus newspaper. I've served on staff for five years now and I've loved every minute of it.

At the end of the semester we always have an end-of-the-semester white elephant party. Everyone gets gifts to give during this 'generous' occasion. Every year it seems to get worse and worse. Let's just say a few of us veteran staffers have an agenda to out-do the other every semester. There seems to be a general theme.

Despite the embarrassment and humiliation, everyone bands together and has a good time. You never have to worry about what one person is going to think of you because you've worked hard right next to that person all semester. You've shared good times and bad. You've learned the real reason of why they're called "dead"-lines. And you've gotten a few steps closer to realizing your full potential. I wouldn't change any of the five years if I had the choice.

The great thing about Dixie State College is that I've had the opportunity to work with these great students and staff. At any other university, it wouldn't be surprising if you stayed as a staff member and never had the opportunity to move up. As a high school senior I was drafted on as a volunteer staff writer, hired as the opinion editor my freshman year at DSC, was editor-in-chief my sophomore and junior year, and also ran the online newspaper for a year and a half. Who can really go out into the field after graduation and have that on their resume? Not many people.

I also never thought I would stay at DSC. I was wrong! All I heard my senior year of high school was DSC is a bad school. You don't get as good an education at DSC. No one ever stays in St. George after graduating in Washington County. Well, I have to say I disagree with every one of those statements. Sure, DSC is a smaller school compared to most, but that's the benefit of it. DSC's marketing always uses the phrase: "Best education under the sun." That's because you can actually get counted as a person, and not a number, at DSC. Plus the teachers actually know your name...well, most of them. :)

Overall, I've had a great experience. Now I have no clue what I'm going to do after I graduate. I don't think I'll ever leave.

Recycling can be fun

I never realized how many things can be recycled; now I don't think I'll ever take anything for granted.

As I was helping my dad shop for my little sister, I came across this neat Web site. I know I'm a little behind the times, but it is www.etsy.com. This e-Bay look-a-like features people who are selling items they have made. That's when I saw pendants made from used Scrabble tiles or dominoes. Some of them even had words and pictures pasted to them with a glass-like resin coating to make the finish look more high-quality.

After looking for over an hour at different tiles I had quite the list going. My poor husband couldn't help but get a little annoyed that I was spending so much time looking at "old game pieces." However, to those artists and craft maniacs who came up with these ingenious ideas: kudos!

Late nights and research papers

So with it being my second-to-last semester, I have spent some late nights working on my current research papers. It seems like my papers from every other year I've spent at Dixie State College were so much easier. Now I have to crack down and hit the books (and online articles) to keep my fingers crossed that I'll receive a good grade.

I found that one of my biggest problems is I am overly critical of myself and my work. That isn't surprising, because it's seemed to be a lifelong trait of mine; however, I'm learning to take a step back and breathe. Sometimes it takes a while to realize you're over-analyzing yourself.

The only advice I have to any student is this: Don't be so hard on yourself! I know it's hard, and it'll take a lot of practice, but it's important to your health and well-being. :) Oh, and never every forget to breath.