Really, it's the simple things.

I've been discouraged lately as a teacher. I see my classroom community becoming very unpleasant as some behavior issues are getting worse and I'm not the teacher I want to be. It seems like I can never get it all done. If I'm ahead in grading, I'm behind in planning. If I have a great conversation with this child, this other child feels ignored. I had hoped to be in a different place by this point in my first year, but it seems some days like I'm back at square one. It seems like taking one day at a time was great advice in August, but it's now March, and I need to plan ahead more. It's really easy to get down about teaching in general, but I know all is not lost.

So this afternoon, I'm dedicating this post to the simple things I appreciate in life.

First, my new favorite Girl Scout cookies given to me by my dear mum. I will be sure to purchase more from the Girl Scout in my class. Yum :)






























Joel got this for his birthday from his mom:














Of course, I've been eyeing this at Ten Thousand Village for months. So I think it was a gift for the both of us ;)














I love this little girl, and I hope Laura doesn't mind that I put this picture up. It just makes me laugh every single time I see it, mostly because I feel the same way about squash.




















Joel makes me laugh. He's a reason why. This is "wolfie" under the Philip Rivers football helmet I gave him for a wedding present while Philip Rivers is on TV.















Southern food. I love it. So it gets to go on the blog. Friday's dinner: chicken, collards, and sweet potato casserole. Joel's famous sweet tea is not pictured.
















Hm. I feel much better now that we've had this talk.