Happiness and Joy

It's the simple things in life that make me happy. Take today for example. Today was "teacher work day" at school, meaning students stay home and do whatever and teachers go to school and finish up grades and prepare for the next quarter. I woke up extremely early without the assistance of an alarm clock (as usual), and went to work at around 7. My school district is having budget issues, so this year we're only paid to work for 3 hours. Therefore, I only stayed for 4 1/2. The shop teacher offered half of the display case by the copy room to me, and registration is coming up mid-February and my program is in DESPERATE need of publicity (only 24 tech students this semester. Between two classes. 24!!!), so I spent most of my work time putting together an Exploring Technology display. Hopefully it'll help me draw in more kids....

After work, I went to a teacher supply store to look at posters. I found some decent ones about electricity and Newton's Laws and measurement conversions, which is all stuff I (try to) cover in Tech. And then I found my favorite poster of all time: <-- This poster was hanging up in my 8th grade reading teacher's room...nearly 10 years ago (in Tennessee). I was beyond thrilled to find it here!

Next stop was Target. But first, a preface. I recently moved in my own apartment. It quickly became apparent that, not only did it take me over a week to have the dishwasher full enough to run, I didn't even OWN enough dishes to fill it! So every time I go to a department store, I glance through their dishes to see if anything catches my fancy. Ideally, I wanted dishes to match the set I already own. However, those dishes were purchased 6 years ago at a Walmart in Tennessee, and they have cherries all over them. Not likely that I'll find anything to match just right.

So at Target today, on the last aisle containing dish sets, on the bottom clearance shelf in the corner and inside a busted up box, I found Them. The dishes I met in my dreams. They don't match my cherry dishes...not even the right shape, actually. But they DO have cherry BLOSSOMS on them, and they're so pretty! And better yet, the nice lady at the register took an additional 10% off because the box was such a mess. Score! I have a thing for cherries. Not to eat, just to look at. So whenever I find something (flipflops, car air fresheners, dishes) with cherries on it, I get happy.

Upon my return to the homestead, I observed that it was a gorgeous day outside, I needed a couple of groceries, and I live a mile away from the grocery store. So I plugged into my iPod and went on a long walk. On a random side note, Lenka has the best quit-thinking-about-things-that-make-you-sad music ever. It's even better if you're already in a pleasant mood. At the store, I had to buy meat for the Taco Soup I'm making for Friends night this week. I found pre-chopped stew meat for a very reasonable price. And broccoli was really cheap too. Just a few more reasons to be happy.

Now I'm home and aching because I worked out for the first time in a month yesterday and just got back from a 2-mile walk. But the sun is shining, I have two windows in my bedroom, and I bought a hook to install by my front door so I can hang my keys on it and hopefully not lose them again. Life is good!

I still have about half a day left. I'm in a good mood; the trick will be STAYING in that good mood. My plans? Wash some dishes, plan some classes, and find an institute class to go to tonight. And tomorrow, brand new semester at school! Here's hoping it keeps getting better.