CuteKittyPunk

A few weeks back I attended an introduction morning during one of the Free2Feed events that had several preschool teachers and employees come and talk to our group about local preschools in the area. I am only going to share the mom and pop preschools as in ran from home by individuals because those are a lot harder to find on your own. You can easily find information on the other stuff, and maybe I will share my notes about those another day. My little guy in Preschool this year. This pose is funny. It was very informational. It also inspired me to turn my dream job into a reality. You see, I have always wanted to run my own business. The business that I had been researching for most of the year was for an indoor playground and cafe here in St. George. But it just didn't seem possible. I do, for the record, believe if done correctly by someone with deeper pockets than me, that it would be a very successful business venture. That's what my market research, busin...

The Tilted Kiln 215 W St. George Blvd 435-275-6603 Hours: Tuesday - Friday 12:00-8:00; Saturday 10:00-6:00 www.thetiltedkiln.com https://www.facebook.com/thetiltedkiln/ Today the children and I got to play with clay at The Tilted Kiln in St. George . I had driven past this pottery studio many times not realizing all the fun things it has to offer. It's not just a pottery shop, though there is a section that some great local artists have pottery for sale. It has a section of ceramics that you can buy and paint yourself and they will cook it again after that.  That was fun to see. So many great ideas, from painting a large platter with the family name or something like "Dad's Burgers"to piggy banks and garden gnomes. They also had quite a few Christmas related ceramic crafts to paint. My kids and I had so much fun browsing the ideas and we surely will find ourselves back in the shop come summer vacation! :) You can come back for parties or other group ac...

Just about a month ago, my family and I participated in The March for Women's Liberty here in St. George. It was a great event for the whole family. We waved our American flag and huddled close together as it was a crispy and windy day. It was a happy and peaceful day as all who gathered - did so in friendliness and peace. Me and my girls I remember when I first heard the word feminism. I thought it was a bad word because I was raised to want to be a stay-at-home mom and home maker. And I thought that feminism meant that you couldn't do that or that you wouldn't want to or that it was looked down on. In 2014, I began to be a little better informed about what feminism really means and that is equality . I am a big fan of equality. My Ella The thing is, even though I appreciate the right to choose what my life will be like, whether I would or should go to college, have a career, etc. I always really wanted what my society wanted from me. So, it really wasn...

Making Friends 101 After moving back to the U.S. - there was definitely a readjustment period for me. So, I put time into starting a blog. And then getting myself out there, making friends and getting involved and going places and doing things with the children. Then when I did that, and I did it successfully, there really was no time to blog about how great St. George is. I have come across a few other mommy bloggers that have attempted to explain just how great this area is, but after a time, everyone kinda stops and it's because we are enjoying the sunshine and the nature and all that this area has to offer that we stop blogging or just don't do it as often. Recently a good friend, Michelle, that I met shortly after moving here, asked if I would write some blog posts for her on her blog Green Kale and Yams about my recent change has a Vitamix owner. I said, yes. Now it's time to get the word out, that I have switched over from using a cheap model smoothie make...

According to Hedgehog Electric , this is the must see list for Christmas lights in Southwestern Utah. See map here for route! Thanks to my sister for finding me these links! I drove by this house the other day but the lights were not on yet... crazy how into the Christmas lights this house has a lot going on... image found here: video There is one newer spot to browse Christmas lights and that is at the new Desert Garden up on Red Hills Parkway next to Pioneer Park aka Dixie Rock! Okay, that's about all I have to say about that. One more thing, The Christmas lights display at Town Square at Main and Tabernacle are awesome... much better than at the Temple. I was a little disappointed with how few lights they had up at the temple... but I guess the temple makes up for it by having a nativity presentation and all those cool things you can do inside the visitor center.... image found here . which brings up a childhood memory. When I was a kid, I lived on t...

Zeppe's Ice 1812 W. Sunset Blvd #2 St. George, Utah 435-773-7140 www.zeppesice.com When I was a kid, my Mom used to have this laminated ice cream cone (flat paper) on the closet door in the kitchen. Each cone had our name on it. And every time we read a Friend  magazine article we would earn a paper laminated scoop of ice cream for our cone. And at the end of the month she would take us out for ice cream. But actually, we usually went for Frozen Yogurt which has always been the in-thing here in St. George as long as I can remember. The trendy hot spot back then was Dixie Frozen Yogurt. It was in the old shopping center on Bluff where K-mart is still located. It was always a welcome treat. I loved getting gummy bears on my frozen yogurt.  Now all the frozen yogurt places are self serve and you always spend too much money! Okay, there are several yummy frozen yogurt and ice cream places around here now, and I will review each of them another day, but today, I wa...

First snow this Fall, Jarvis Peak west of St. George, about 10 miles. Nice photo eh?! Photo courtesy Mark Today it was cold outside, burrrr... very cold. We had planned on having a mommy meet up at Firehouse Park but it was much too cold for that. We went inside to the Story Time hour over at St. George Library. Every week the St. George Library has several offerings for Story Time participation. I have only ever attended the Wednesday Story Time with Mrs. Mann. It is held at 10:00, 11:00 and 2:00 for ages 3-5, but I am usually there with my 2 year old and there are a lot of little ones with older siblings as well. Mrs. Mann plays fun music, reads longer stories for those ready to listen, there is usually a theme craft or coloring sheet at the end. It's fun. Mrs. Mann is awesome. She has a special gift interacting with the youngsters. She's a pro! There is also a Monday Story Time with Grandpa Steve 10:00-11:00 for ages 12 and younger. Again, Wednesday Evening Stor...

The City of St George is awesome when it comes to trails, parks, playgrounds and outdoor recreation. In fact, they just received an award for it, a gold medal  to be precise! This is one reason why St George is a great place to live and raise a family. I also like St George because it feels like a small town community even though the population is growing and Washington county is one of the fasting growing counties in the USA. It still has that small town feel to it. Maybe it's because there are several small communities in each little valley between the hills and mountains here. There are several places to take the little ones and little bit older ones to escape from the heat. But probably the best place is in downtown St George next to the Tabernacle. There are no playground toys, but they are not missed at this popular spot. This city block Town Square   is home to the famous Mormon Tabernacle, Children's Museum as well as the St George Library and the Splash Pad....

Place:  Red Cliffs Desert Reserve aka Turtle Reserve Easy to Moderate Hiking Ability Hi there! I am Melissa Daams aka cUtekittypUnk aka Dixie Kitty! When I originally started this blog it was to record favorite recipes and review new food to me in the Netherlands. I was an American expat living in Eindhoven, Brabant, Nederland (not too far from the Belgium border). I lived there 10+ years. I raised my kids there, having four children, and now suddenly find myself back in the states. Originally I am from St George, Utah, and I was born and raised here until my parents moved our family to Northern Nevada when I was 9 years old. Most of my family and extended family left Southern Utah, and about a year ago 2014, my sister moved back here. Then my husband had enough of the Dutch weather and we are here, too. It sure has changed a lot since I was a kid. My hope is to review some dining establishments in the area and stuff to do for people with small children. So far so...