Success

Hey all, thanks for the kind words on that last post. Sorry it was such a downer. I really was having a bad day - but I have been overwhelmed with love and support since then and feel much better. It helps to have great friends and family (especially the kind that leave kind comments, send sweet text messages, bring you chocolate, or show up with ice cream at the door). So thank you to my wonderful support group. I don't know what I would do without you.

Other than my recent discouragements, I have had some recent successes. Let me tell you about them:

-The open house for my District House was last Thursday and Friday. I took my students on a mini field trip (not a 15 hour field trip like we went on the week before, whew!) to go look at the house. It was fun - and mostly I am grateful to be all finished with it. It was a lot of work but I think that it really did come together. I wish I had pictures, but it was really bad weather outside - and so even though I did remember to bring my camera, we pretty much scampered in and then scampered out without pausing to get a good shot of the house.

-I only have five days left of school. Well, five and a half I guess. But then it is graduation and we are outta there for the summer. I'm a little sad - but more than a little excited. However, i've never not had a summer job and I don't know what I am going to do with myself after June (June is still a pretty busy teacher month with all of the summer conferences, collaboration meetings and other random things.) I'm seriously considering trying to find a little summer job - but part of me just wants to relax and go swimming every day. Who knows....

-I am currently working with three Red Ladder Design clients, it is keeping me busy but I love it.

- I convinced David to buy the fifth season of Psych. We don't usually follow new TV shows, and we don't usually buy movies - but we loved watching Psych on Netflix and it is super clean and funny so we decided to go ahead and buy this season. (We aren't very patient.) Thank goodness for Amazon who will deliver it to our doorstep on May 31st - the day that it comes out.

-My hair is the longest that it has been in my married life. I'm pretty sure that David has never seen my hair this long. Now, it's still not very long - but it's kind of a big deal for me. I like being able to put it in a messy bun. Oh wait - i've blogged about this before. Well, that's pretty much the highlight of life right now.

-David and I are taking Friday off. Hooray! David gets the day off - so I am taking the day off as well. We have grand plans of an early Temple Session, brunch at Denny's, mini golf or bowling in the afternoon, and then celebrating with Matthew and Melissa at their Graduation that night. Should be a fun day.

-Last, but not least: one of my greatest friends, Hayli Dickey, gets home from her mission this Wednesday! I can't wait. I have missed that girl over the past 18 months and am SO excited to see her. I am already trying to devise ways to get her to move down to the Lehi area. Any suggestions?

Discouraged

I'm feeling really discouraged today. I don't usually blog about feeling discouraged - but I pretty much need to let it out somehow or else I am going to start crying in the middle of my school day. I know that sounds dramatic - but it's really true.

I've been working so hard for the past five months to teach my students so that they really understand the material. I mean - serious emphasis on application and teaching so that they know their stuff. I have stuck tightly to the standards and objectives that the state provides, and have tried to be thorough in each area. Yesterday and today I have been State Skills Testing with my students. My highest passing rate for a class so far is 50%. I have lots of students that are "almost" passing - but only 1/2 of them have actually passed. That is my highest class passing rate.

I guess I am feeling discouraged because I have poured my heart and soul into this teaching thing. It is rare for me to work less than 10 hours a day and common for me to work 12 or 13. I know that every student learns differently, and that some of them don't like me or my teaching style, but I really have tried to help my students learn. I expected better. Of course not 100% - but I was hoping that at least 80% of my students would pass. I feel like such a crappy teacher - it makes me want to cry.

Plus, I have been feeling frustrated in other areas of my life. I've been so busy that i've been slacking off with making sure that we are eating good dinners, I haven't done the dishes in weeks, and our laundry pile is overloaded. I'm having a hard time with our ward (David and I are the new teachers of a Sunday school class that consists of an 85 year old who can't hear and a 65 year old who hates the church. We haven't ever officially been issued the calling - but we were introduced to the "class" as the new teachers. So... who knows what will happen there.) It just seems like one thing after another.

Have I mentioned that my classroom is down the "Cowboy Hall." And that my desk is right next to a window. I hear cuss words all day and am surrounded by students who have no sense of respect and who are constantly making noise. It's especially frustrating today - because we are testing. That means that my classroom is completely quiet and we can hear everything that is going on in the hall. Why those students aren't in class? I don't know.

I guess I just needed an outlet today. I'm frustrated and discouraged and feel like I try so, SO, hard and yet I am always lacking somewhere. Or everywhere. I don't know.


In happier news, my little brother and sister are graduating next week! I sure can't believe it. I love them both so much and am super grateful to be able to call them friends as well as siblings. Here is the graduation announcement that I put together for them this week.

 

Congrats Matt and Miss!

I love designing announcements because it is a tangible demonstration of accomplishment. I can fail at cooking, fail at cleaning, and even fail at teaching - but there is something special about designing something on the computer, making it perfect for the people i'm designing it for, then printing it out and having it look professionally done. It's a great feeling. Maybe i'll go home and design some more announcements to help me get over this discouraging day i've had. Or maybe I will just pick up a pizza on the way home, take a nap, and eat chocolate for dessert.

Yeah... that's probably what I will do.

Thursday

I really hate coming up with titles for my blog posts. There is this pressure there that is just too much for me. What if you decide not to read my post because the title isn't interesting enough? Is there a correlation between comments and an interesting title? Like, if I have a boring title then no one will comment on my post? See. There is too much pressure.


So the big news around our house lately is that David got new glasses! He looks so handsome in his new specs. The poor boy hasn't had new glasses since he was 14. His prescription was vastly outdated - to the point that if we were watching a movie, or playing cards, or really doing anything, he would have to change back into his contacts. Needless to say, we are really excited for him to have some new glasses. Being able to see is such a wonderful thing. I am definitely going to post a picture of his new look soon. Maybe tonight. Until then, this picture will have to do.

These aren't the exact ones - but they are very similar. 

 In other news: my hair is now long enough to pull back into a messy bun. This is pretty big news. Unfortunately, this means that my hair will probably be pulled back 75% more often than it used to be. Well.. fortunately for my morning sleep time, unfortunately for my attempts at trying to look professional at school. I can resist pulling my hair into a ponytail - but the messy bun looks just nice enough to pass and is still really easy. I wish that I had a good picture of my "messy bun".  It was a staple for me in high school - but my college life was one of fairly short hair. Now that my hair is growing out (slowly and painfully) I am finally able to make it work again! Hooray!

Like this, but not nearly so prom-ish. And lots less hair. Lets be honest - I could never get my hair to look like this.

 Well, thats it folks. Thursdays are not nearly so interesting as Wednesdays are. But they are one day closer to weekend and that, my friends, is all that matters. And so, with that in mind, I wish you a very happy Thursday!