Snow Day!

Just some pictures from probably the only day we will have snow!

Family Tradition

Every year my sister, dad, and my brother's family all pack themselves in a van and go to The Gift of Lights at Sunset Park and then go to Ethel M for a walk through the decorated cactus garden. I have always heard tales of beasts driving the van, lots of chaos and screaming, and of course the occasional "stench" one of the kids leaves in the van full of people. I never participated until this year, and I knew I had to do it. I made my cousin Amanda join in on the chaos and good times were had! Even though we were stuck with the kids in the back and got trampled on the whole time, it was really fun. Amanda said it was family bonding at its finest. :)

IPOD Shuffle

O.K. So Mike bought me an IPOD shuffle just to be a nice boy that he is and I have totally loved it!

Since I am listening to it even as I speak, I'm going to play a quick game with mine. I'm going to shuffle and list some songs I have and what they remind me of. Yes. I am a dork.

"Bubbly Toes" by Jack Johnson. (My summer at BYU in 2005. Sitting on my bed reading Children's Literature books and listening to this song.)

"I'll Be" by Edwin McCain. (Two things. Working at Hogi Yogi with Adam Carley one of my best friends and partner in crime in high school and it also reminds me of Cinderella Story. Hehe. Cheesy movie.)

"Find Yourself" by Brad Paisley. (From the movie Cars. I loved that movie when it came out. It reminds me of this really sad car ride back from Salt Lake City with Brittany when both of us where crying our eyes out about things. )

"Lean Like A Cholo" by I can't remember. (I laugh so hard when this song comes on because it reminds me of Michelle. There is a lyric that says 'Dang! I like you, I like you, but I really want her'. So messed up. Michelle says it was my song after a terrible incident at a party where a guy only talked to her so he could talk to me. Very messed up but she was a good sport.)





"Summer Love" by Justin Timberlake. (Walking downtown in the fashion district of LA with Lindsey where either they played Beyonce or Justin EVERYWHERE!)

"Forever" by Chris Brown. (Great workout song but also reminds me of So You Think You Can Dance.)

"Love Story" by Taylor Swift. (Makes me think of Mike.)

"On My Mind" by Kalai. (When I roomed with Christy Bello and Jeantiel Jackson, who is Gladys Knight's granddaughter. We went to Gladys Knight's house and listened to him in concert in her backyard. Very cool.)

"Fighter" by Christina Aguilera. (My friend Felicia and I took a hip hop class with our teacher Al Money and he used this as our warm up song every week. I was a hip hop star! Haha. Not.)



"Feels Like Today" by Rascal Flatts. (Driving to Utah in my car with the windows open blasting this song and singing at the top of my lungs! Its deep if you listen to it.)

"Ride With Me" by Nelly. (My friend Kaycee and I would listen to this on the way to the Las Vegas Hilton to DDR with the Asian boys. We would kick their butts too. I lost so much weight that summer!)

"Semi-Charmed" by Third Eye Blind. (I saw these guys at the Delta Center in Salt Lake. Very fun concert. Also reminds me of my many trips to Provo.)




"Everything" by Michael Buble. (Michelle and Brittany love him. Makes me think of them when we all lived together. So fun. )

"Party Like A Rock Star" (The summer when I party hopped a lot. I thought I was so cool. Haha.)

"Shattered" by O.A.R. (I love this song right now. Reminds me of now!)




"I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. (Jason Mraz reminds me of when I worked at Disney in 2003 and I would listen to his CD 'Waiting for My Rocket to Come' nonstop as I drove the back roads of Disney trying to make it to the employee bus on time. I loved living down there. Disney and beaches all wrapped up in one summer. I was in heaven.)

"Time of Your Life" by Green Day. (My graduation song in high school. Just like everyone else.)

Yes, I am random and like random music. I'll spare you more.

Thanksgiving Weekend Random Pictures

I flew down to Las Cruces for Thanksgiving Weekend to see Mike. It had been since Halloween since I had seen him so I was very excited! I did get a little homesick though. :( It was my first Thanksgiving without the family, but I still had a lot of fun. We hung out with family, bought a 52 inch flat screen tv, and played Wii! Here are some random pictures from the weekend.

I was sad to pack up the pumpkin from Halloween.
Mike was checking out my new decoration, the Christmas tree!

Pecan Pie at Thanksgiving Dinner!

I decorated the mantle too!

He doesn't look too thrilled about the tree!

Brad and Christa at the kids table..hehe..

Mike trying on his suit. FYI I have NEVER seen the boy in a suit.

O.K. We got stuck at the kids table too...Haha...

The dining room decor....I wanted to show my sister. :)

Good Investments

I was sitting in the parking lot of Ulta trying to talk myself into going in and buying an amazing curling iron when I finally talked myself out of it so I could save a little money.

Then I got to thinking on actual things I have bought that I think have SAVED me money or I consider something absolutely great to invest in. So here are a few things I thought of.

I put Subway first on my list. Whoever came up with the idea for five dollar foot longs is genius. I go to Subway twice a week for a great meal and I even keep the calories down!
Every day for lunch I have a lean pocket. If you buy it in bulk, it's so cheap!
Liesl got me started on Zip and Steam. This just saves a lot of time and you can totally reuse them!
I have been trying to find a really good concealer for a long time and since I can't afford Bare Minerals, I have concluded that Tru Blend is a good investment if you are cheap. It rubs in easily and it doesn't even look like you are wearing it, but it will cover up those dang zits!
Even though it was a stretch to buy one, I really think a Sonicare is a great investment. Since I have started using it, my dentist visits have been less stressful and it works so well!
Crystal Lite Fruit Punch rocks and I drink it every day. Go to Walmart. They are cheap there.
And last but not least, my favorite investment is my Chi. This bad boy works so fast. I went through three flat irons til I bought this and it has been a miracle!
Now I just need a good curling iron!

U-N-L-V-Go! Fight! Win!

I find it funny that I finally get school spirit six years after I graduated from my school. I had cheap tickets too as a student and now I have to pay the regular price!

Anyway, yesterday Britt and I went to the opening game of the UNLV basketball season. It was intense but a great game all in one. My left leg is still throbbing from Brittany beating and squeezing it and I kept coughing the whole night from all the screaming I did. I love those games!!!

Woohoo! Go REBELS! 1-0!

November Nominations

I'm not posting this to brag, I promise! But when I get these forms in my mailbox each month, they crack me up! Every month the students have to nominate a teacher they want to win Staff Member of the Month and why. I love the reasons they give cause it makes me think about what I am doing every day when I walk around the classroom. Here's what they put this month:

"I love the way she talks. She reminds me of Natasha Bedingfield."

"She is nice and gentle." (Gentle? Haha!)

"Because we do labs." (Thats all they put. Nothing else.)

"Her creative drawing." (They are mocking me because I draw stick horses on the board.)

"Ms. Bray is nice and I love science. And she's pretty too. I love her teaching skills. I want to be a teacher when I grow up because of her." (I'm giving her an A! :) )

"When we have questions she listens and answers. Even if she doesn't know the answer she will work hard to get the answer. "

"She is not afraid to have fun. She is always talking in a non-loud tone."

"She has great discipline steps. She is fun, cool, and funny. She likes to be random. I am glad I have her fourth period and I can't wait for the pizza party. Go Ms. Bray! Go Ms. Bray!"

"She always makes things clear by creating mental images."

"She always has contests for us to enter and makes classwork seem really fun. For instance she makes weird noises like "Ew!" and "Gross!" She always keeps us interested."

"I enjoy being in her class because she is so random. We talk a lot but we still get our work done even if we do get off topic. Ms. Bray is cool and I am not saying it just to get on her good side in fact I am not even kissing up to her. She's just really cool. I nominated her last time but she didn't even win which really stinked. I can't believe it. But still its cool and I hope she wins this time."

"She teaches us science very quickly. She relates to us very easily. She lets us understand science in a unique way. I've learned so much already."

"She donates time to go to the store and getting things for our class. She also gives us the inside scoop on everything and she will get anything for the class to have fun."


"I always look forward to going to science. She is a very kind and caring person who I know everyone likes to be around. Ms. Bray is the best science teacher I could ask for!"

"She even bought some class pets. Ms. Bray is always in a happy mood no matter what goes on. I'm sure she likes to teach science a lot. She is one of the best teachers at this school."

"She smiles at you with warmth in her eyes. She gives you the best answers when problems are the worst. She gives out the best prizes when you do something good. I don't know about you, but Ms. Bray is the best science teacher I've had in my life."

"She also teaches us to be mature about things. She teaches us in a way we understand."

"She is very hyper and she may run into something but she makes us laugh. She is very nice and does creative experiments. She makes hilarious jokes and loves to watch Brainpop. She runs crazily around to make our class great. Ms. Bray is the best teacher in the world!"

"She knows how to make learning fun. From making body systems out of play dough to weighing items on scales."

This is why I teach! :)