First House. The joy... but, oh, the stress.

Mr. Lock and I have officially been "homeowners" for one week!  One hectic, crazy, stressful week.  I love our house, LOVE IT.  I love being in it, I'm pleased with our hardwood colour and other décor choices (this was a brand new build so we had to choose the tiles and countertops and such).  It's the mess of unpacking, and having to coordinate so many things right now that I'm finding stressful and exhausting... but it will all get done eventually, and we've organized some of our belongings well enough to make the place liveable, so that's okay.

I'm having a bit of a stress break down, actually.  I think the weekend being a long weekend, and trying to catch up on some sleep, will be helpful.  Between obligations and things to do for work, and the set-up of the new house, and the list of wedding things to accomplish as we head towards the 3 month countdown to the big day.... ahhhh.  It's really getting to me.  The new earlier morning commute and the exhaustion of a week at school that had the 100th Day celebration, skating electives day, and then Valentine's Day... I'm too exhausted on week days to do as much as I've been pushing myself to do this past week.  I need to remember that we're going to live in this house for a long time, and since we aren't working on true interior decorating yet (we're mostly just using anything we had for our condo until we've got some savings/wedding gifts behind us)... well, I guess I need to just learn to let go of some of the house stuff so I can sleep properly at night and not be so worked up after the busy school day. 

Last night my entire body was *buzzing* with anger from stress, I haven't felt that way in a long time, if ever, and it was absolutely horrible.  I don't want to keep feeling that way, so I need to find a way to relax.  I think it's time to make some To Do lists, and then really figure out top priorities and take them one item at a time.

I also think I need to blog/journal more often again, as it is an important way for me to manage my anxieties and reflect on the good moments so I hold onto them longer.    I'm going to try to fix my way of thinking...

- we've had our blinds installed so we have better privacy on the main floor and bathrooms
- though they aren't installed yet (because it's a bit of a nightmare), the washer and dryer have at least been delivered and the installation guy my mom used before has been contacted and the part we need has been ordered
- we have moved a lot of boxes to rooms they need to go to, and we have unpacked a lot of boxes as well.  We mostly only have to work on organizing our basement (well, sweeping the dust and painting the floor) and then we can move our longer-term storage items down there and the whole dining room area will be decluttered.  Not that big of a job and a whole area will be taken care of.
- I've organized the kids I need to give permission forms to for a conference I'm going to in April; this was stressful because I have to take intermediate students and I don't teach any, but I had help from a grade 7 teacher and this has been sorted out.
- My students are so sweet and so nice, and we've had a lovely fun week even if it was crazy busy.
- Valentine's Day seemed to include my students bringing me many gifts of chocolate... chocolate makes me feel a lot better. 

So, first home... definitely some stress... but definitely happy, too... I'll manage with more time and organization to feel more settled in.