My brother was tired of his annoying boss so this year he decided to make a change. He switched his job from the office to the road. He’s always liked to drive and enjoys a change of pace frequently. That’s why he looked for truck driver jobs and began truck driver school. He gets to enjoy a varied schedule and is home every week to see his fiance. Perhaps I’ll make a change too…

If your pet is like my dog (a border collie), he or she only comes to those who treat him/her the best. Loyalty is purely a matter of pampering.

So to pamper my dog and keep her happy, I bought her a gourmet dog treat for Christmas. Along with some dog balls, she is one happy and obedient dog! But watch out, you may get slobbered with dog kisses like I did after you open the presents!

This time of year is always so hectic.  You’d think with all the parties that it would be easy to relax but parties just mean more baking and cleaning than usual.  It feels unacceptable to spend a night at home without inviting friends over for games or something. 

But one of the things I always love is the way that families feel so much more like a family during the holidays.  For once my brothers actually think it’s a good idea to hang out with the family instead of hiding in their rooms reading and playing video games. 

This year we decided to start a new family tradition of getting our family portrait taken by a local Utah photographer.  Then after we’re going to do the customary drive around the city and see all the beautiful lights.  And along with that comes the routine jokes from my brother who likes to point out how beautiful all the street lamps are when the rest of us are oohing and ahhing at animatronic reindeer.

Maybe next year we’ll actually convince my dad to dress up like Santa in our family picture.

When my niece shattered a piece of my Grandmother’s china I was convinced that she was going to be written out of the will.  My Grandmother has had this set for years and she normally keeps it hidden away in a dark cupboard, but seeing as it’s the holidays she decided to break it out one night for hot cocoa.  My poor niece felt so bad that she gathered up the pieces and carried them with her for days after, saying that she’d ask Santa to bring a new tea cup for Christmas. 

Luckily I realized that we didn’t have to rely on Santa because I found a great place for china replacement.  I found the cup online easily and now my niece has wrapped it up to give to my Grandmother on Christmas morning. She so excited about it, each day she sneaks back to its hiding place and checks that it’s still ok.  She’s even had to re-wrap it three times now because she keeps opening it to check that it’s still safe. 

What she doesn’t know is that I also ordered a few extra tea cups just in case Grandma decides to invite us over for hot chocolate again.

Is it just me, or do movies seem to be getting more risque? After seeing The Heartbreak Kid, Good Luck Chuck, and the Hostel Part 2 other movies seemed to pair in comparison. The nudity of both males and females, as well as the frequency, intensity, and length of sex scenes seem to be getting longer and more grotesque.

My mom, always worried about swear words and inappropriate movies, recommended that I visit Kids In Mind. It details and rates the level of every swear word, violence, nudity, drugs, sexual reference, and anything that someone may take offense to.

It was here where I learned which movies have more profanity than Scarface.

Check it out before you go see a movie to see how it rates. This site is helpful when searching for appropriate kid movies, and for those adults looking to find a somewhat clean flix these days.

Along with the last piece of advice about online safety, it’s wise to do more than advised. Meaning, although you may have an anti-virus protection, you may still be at risk from scammers and hackers. Not to mention real thiefs, or a computer hard drive meltdown. The best way to protect your computer information from all of the possible negative situations is to use remote backup .

If anything does happen, you’ll be happy to know that your information is securely backed up somewhere else besides your computer.

Although I’ve enjoyed the outdoor nature of Utah, trying skiing, snowshoeing, biking, rock climbing, cave exploring (spelunking), base jumping, wakeboarding, water skiing, jetskiing, horseback riding, shooting, white water rafting, and other activites, I’ve just discovered a fun, new activity in Utah. This state is great for canyoneering.

What is canyoneering? Canyoneering is a mix of everything! It involves traveling through a canyon by different methods which can include walking, swimming, climbing, and rappelling. For this reason, it’s kind of like talking a hike, quick rock climb, and swim all in one.

I tried Utah canyoneering when I was in Zion National Park earlier this year. It was warm, and a fun sport to learn because unlike some other sports it doesn’t focus on nor require a lot of skill.

Try canyoneering for yourself and see what you think. Southern Utah, Colorado, and the Rocky Mountain Range are all great places for canyoneers. Research the spot first to make sure the spot is safe and easy for beginners (or you may get stuck in a small crack), and then you’re on your way.

With the entrance of the holidays this year brings an increase in online shopping. Keep your identity and credit cards safe this year with these tips from Comcast:

1. Use anti-virus software and tools.

2. Use anti-phishing software.

3. Turn operating system updates on.

4. Install a firewall.

5. Secure your wireless network with a password, particularly if you live in an apt.

6. Choose a secure password.

7. Above all, be skeptical. Shop from retailers that you trust.

For more tips, go here.

Lately I’ve been feeling really down and tired all the time. Although some days it was caused by a lack of sleep, other days I couldn’t figure out why I felt so tired when I had 8 hours racked up from the night before.

After pondering it for a while, I realized that I had been lacking in a few areas. First, I hadn’t been eating my frequent, small meals. My three large meals made me feel particularly sleepy while attempting to work after a large lunch or dinner.

Next, I had been ditching some regular workouts. I had dwindled my workout time down because of my fatigue, which consequently made me feel more tired! If I had not given into my laziness, I probably would have felt better by taking a walk or jog after dinner.

Finally, I think the reason I may have been feeling tired is because I had forgotten to take my regular energy supplement. I noticed a huge difference in my motivation to complete tasks and my energy to workout after I skipped my supplements for a few weeks.

If you, like me, are feeling tired assess your daily habits and change your routine so you have more energy. A few simple changes can do wonders! I found that a few simple tasks gave me the energy to work and complete my daily task list, plus I had more energy to enjoy my life!

Although it’s been a while since our trip, I’ve finally taken the time to write about it. A few months ago we took a Swiss hiking vacation. It was amazing! It was my favorite vacation by far, maybe even better than our honeymoon.

First, we took a long flight into Geneva, Switzerland. From there we traveled with our group into Zermatt. Switzerland was a breathtaking country with plenty of friendly people and a great mix of the city and country.

We were able to enjoy the festivities of the country before taking our first hike up to the famous Matterhorn. The views on the mountain were unparalleled. Next, we went to another mountain with glistening lakes that perfectly reflected the previous mountain we climbed, the Matterhorn.

We also visited historic mountaineering museums and went on several longer and shorter hikes over the next few days.

My favorite part was the amazing stairways we explored around one of the world’s highest waterfalls, called Staubbach Falls. We also visited Lauterbrunnen, which had 72 waterfalls surrounded by beautiful rainbows.

The hikes were exhilirating and we returned with glorious pictures of waterfalls and mountain views. I don’t think our next trip will be able to top this last one! I would recommend everyone make it a goal to climb the Swiss Alps at least once in their life.