Awesome News!

Not surprisingly, after posting so infrequently and all about Dad's visit for so long, I have quite a few updates on other aspects of J's and my life at the moment. It is nothing if not busy.

Update #1 - I HAVE A JOB IN NEW PLYMOUTH! I had an interview yesterday, and they called me today and said that they had chosen to offer me the job! YAY!! I am thrilled. It is at Puketapu Kindergarten, which is part of the Taranaki Kindergarten Association. In case I have neglected to tell you, kindergarten here is for 3- and 4-year-olds, and is public Early Childhood Education, which I love. I was really wanting to get a kindergarten job, but had heard from lots of people that they are in high demand and hard to get, so I was dubious as to my ability to get one, but I did! It is a temporary position, because it is only while someone is on maternity leave, which is usually a year, but can be shortened to as little as six months. However, I have been assured that it is the foot in the door that I need to get into the Kindergarten Association, and that after this, it will be much easier to get other jobs. Many kindergarten teachers I met said that they got into kindergarten through a maternity leave position. There are 17 kindergartens in New Plymouth, so hopefully something will come up by the time I'm done at Puketapu. But I am not worried about that at all right now, I'm just so excited to have a job waiting for me! And a year, or even six months, is a long time. I start on May 5th, which is the start of the second term of the school year. It's going to be great! I will devote a whole post to raving about it soon enough, I'm sure.

Update #2 - J starts his new job on the 28th of April, which is less than two short weeks away! I can't believe how fast the time has gone! He will have to travel back to Whanganui quite often for the first few weeks, because the way scheduling worked out, he will still have to do some training here even after he's started his new job. So much for him not being away all the time. Oh well, that's just temporary. J has been dealing with quite a lot of stress at work lately, and he is excited to have a change of pace and a little more consistency. I think that this new job will suit him well, so I'm excited for him.

Update #3 - We have found a lovely house in New Plymouth that suits all of our needs wonderfully. It has a fully fenced in yard for Holly (and was one of the few that allowed dogs), and a spare bedroom for when friends come to visit (hint, hint). It is only 8.5km (5.2m) from Puketapu Kindergarten via a lovely bike trail along the sea, so it will be perfect for me. It is 35 minutes away from J's work, but we knew he would have a commute, and it's just a couple minutes from the main highway, so it's an easy drive. It has windows that actually seal and do not let the wind blow through, unlike our current house, so we should stay much warmer, which was my main concern in looking for a house! It is quite a lot more money than we're paying for our current house, but that's because housing is way more expensive in New Plymouth than Whanganui, and because it is a better house in a better neighborhood. So, we'll get used to the price, and enjoy the lovely house. I'll post pictures once we're moved in.

Update #4 - We are moving on Saturday, April 26th, which is SO SOON! We are very lucky to have J's job paying our moving expenses, so we can hire a moving company to load and unload all of our things. My back is very happy about that. However, we are a bit unlucky in that the 26th is the day after Anzac Day (a national holiday, but more on that later), so the moving companies are not pleased at the idea of working much that day. The closest we have come to a plan so far is that they will pick up our stuff on Wednesday or Thursday of this coming week, and keep it for us until Saturday, so that all they have to do that day is unload it. Which means that we will probably be in a hotel in the intervening time. I wouldn't mind that too much, except that Holly will probably have to be in a kennel, which is a pity for her. J is working diligently to work all of this out, so we'll see how he gets it planned.

Update #5 - Everyone at Noah's Ark is being quite lovely and caring about me leaving, which is both wonderful and painful. I will miss them a lot, and wish that I had had more time with them. I know that I will find time to visit, and it will be nice to have such a welcoming place to come.

Update #6 - After a very long dry spell of gorgeous, sunny days, the rain has come to stay. I heard on the radio this morning that we have already gotten three times the average rainfall for April, and we're only half way through the month! I have been happy to have some rain, but I am ready for some sun now. I believe we're supposed to get some this weekend, so that's good.

I am sure that there are lots more updates that I should be thinking of, but right now I'm thinking of a cup of tea and an early bedtime. It's so nice to have the stress of finding a job lifted off my shoulders, so I can truly relax.