I'M HOME! Finally. After countless hours in the car and 4,473 miles later, I. Am. Home. Thank God. Today's drive was much less stressful than previous days, especially yesterday. And it was a LOT shorter... 7 hours compared to 11-17 hours. I got home right after my parents. My mom still can't drive because of her surgery, so my dad has to take her to and pick her up from work. Right as they turned on Scoby Way, they saw a car turn on from the highway and my dad said, "Wouldn't that be funny if that was Erica?" Sure enough... there I was. But I was clear on the other end of the road, so they got home before me.

I start teaching tomorrow... I'm freaking nervous! I signed some paperwork for the job and looked over/printed some stuff that the teacher left for me. In this district, since I'm teaching for more than 20 consecutive days, I get a contract. That = awesome! :) And, I get paid the daily rate of a first year teacher. That = SUPER awesome. :) Right now, I have 11 students, but three of them might be moving. I'm actually teaching the K-3 class, but there are no Kindergarten students. I'm really excited about teaching math. And science... We start that next week. We're learning about soil. I'm. SO. PUMPED! And I'm pumped about the super lax dress code -- jeans and t-shirts. If you know me, you know I live in jeans and t-shirts. This is so up my aisle, it's not even funny. And I get to drive Mom's Tahoe. I'm excited about that... And being up off the ground for a change. Dad is going to take my car to Chevron and get the oil changed and get the warming blankets put on the engine. He had an electrical outlet installed on the side of the house so I have somewhere to plug my car in. :) Woo hoo! Now I just need to work on that new cell phone so I have reception up here...

Harley and Jack met for the first time today. I wasn't worried about what Jack thought of Harley -- he likes cats and lived with Jello and Gracie when we had them. I was more worried about how Harley would react. He's never been around a dog before. And except for the two weeks we were living with Sarah-Ashley, he spent the last 14 months as an only pet. He's calmed down since they first met... Harley is spending time in my room (in the window, of course) and he is exploring the house. He's been getting closer and closer to Jack as the evening goes on. There IS hope.

I need to look over some more stuff for tomorrow and organize my binder (aka my bible for the next few weeks). Then I'm going to pass out. In my own bed. At home.

Niiiiice. :)