I LOVE good news!!

After feeling pretty confident about my second interviews last Thursday, I didn't know how I was going to wait ALL the way until Monday to hear back.  Seriously, my patience is pretty lacking on a good day, and job interviews have transformed me into a 2 year old.  Good thing my new supervisor seems to be the same way - She called me Friday morning to tell me she had picked me for the position!  Still waiting for the official offer to come from HR along with the exact salary, but I have a job!!  I don't think I have ever been as excited about anything in my life - This is the first job where I really feel that I was selected over other applicants, and it's a job that I am incredibly excited about.

Needless to say, this made for a wonderful start to the weekend!  We were immediately able to hit Craigslist and start checking out places to rent.  Unfortunately, this put a bit of a damper on the mood...  It is so difficult to find a place that meets our specifications - allows dogs (big dogs... dogs that are pitty bulls...), and preferably has a fenced in yard.  We also decided that we'll be moving into Anchorage since that's where I'll be working - gives us lots more places to look at, but really limits the number of actual houses for rent.  Honestly, I don't think anyone in Alaska has even considered living anywhere other than a condo or a townhouse.  There's also some MAJOR sticker shock when looking at apartments here - the cost of housing is almost double what I'm used to in Pittsburgh.  That also limits our options a bit, because we need something we can afford temporarily on just my income (and that we'll be approved for), and can comfortably afford once Karl finds a job.

Against all odds, we were able to check out two houses on Saturday.  The one was probably too expensive, but the other was a perfectly adorable little house in what seemed to be a nice neighborhood.  The real clincher - it had a doggie door and it was just Willow's size!  We'll drop off the application on Tuesday when we're in Anchorage for another job interview for Karl, and cross our fingers!  I'm already decorating it in my head, so I hope we end up getting it!

I am SO excited to unpack my stuff - I told Karl that I think this may be the first time in the history of the world when unpacking a ton of boxes will be such a joyous occasion.  Karl, being the wonderfully generous person he is, told me that he would allow me to unpack everything just so I could be as happy as possible.  I, however, can also be generous, and would surely not keep it all to myself!