be jealous, elementary school teachers

as a general rule, high school teachers do not get good end-of-year presents.  elementary school teachers bring in the loot.  not high school teachers.  and that's okay - i'm not doing it for the presents, obviously.  i do occasionally get a really sweet card from a student, thanking me for something i've done or for being a good teacher, and i cherish (vomit - hate that word - but it's the right one here) these cards.  i save them in a file folder in my desk to pull out during a particularly bad day.  (i have to come clean, though - i've never actually pulled them out on a bad day.  i think just knowing that they are there is enough.)

until this year, the best end-of-year presents i'd received were:
1. barnes and noble gift card
2. gift certificate to a movie theater
3. this bracelet, which i got my first year of teaching from a student named boombim (i am not kidding you), and which is made of shells.  i love it.  boombim is probably graduating from college this year, and that is crazy.

readers, this year i got two rockin' presents, in addition to some really sweet cards that went into the file folder to save forever and ever.

present number 1:

a ring from a stella & dot trunk sale in our school bookstore.  if the phrase "stella & dot trunk sale" means nothing to you, do not fret.  stella & dot is a jewelry company that doesn't have stores - they have parties in peoples' homes and sell there.  i'd bought two pairs of earrings at the trunk sale in our bookstore that morning, and a student and her mom saw me oohing and ahhing over things, including this ring, which i did not buy.  and then they bought it for me.  SO SWEET.  i love it and it fits perfectly.  life is good.

present number 2:

this is a bag THAT IS ALSO A COOLER and IT HAS MY INITIALS EMBROIDERED ON IT.  i am losing my mind it is so perfect.  remember that dinner with claire #2 that i was telling you about?  it was really a tailgating dinner before a concert, and i packed drinks, cheese, grapes, and salsa in this bag and took it with me and they stayed cold and life was so good.

i hope you've enjoyed a photographic representation of my loot.