This is our year of new appliances. We replaced our 25-year-old washer and dryer last summer, and today we have a new refrigerator coming to replace the 20-year-old one that has been limping along for awhile. Somehow I doubt I'll ever get 20 years out of my new appliances; things are just not built to last that long anymore. I'm just grateful that they waited until this year to retire. Of course, none of our kitchen appliances match anymore; oh well, my home isn't exactly a showplace anyway. It's very . . . homey.

I head back to school tomorrow. 8 more class periods with my 4th period class! Hallelujah! Such a squirrelly bunch. Ready to start over with a new set of kids (we are on an accelerated semester system, so it's sort of like college classes that they do a full year of work in one semester -- only four classes that are 90 minutes each day. Love this system. If the district ever decides to go back to a 7 period day, I might have to retire.