Owning our first home is a big thing of it’s own, but having 13 acres to care for and prep for horses adds to the adventure.  Now that the snow is gone Zac and I have been quite the busy bees.  To focus on one project at a time we’d be spinning our wheels going nowhere fast.  While we’re working on the french drains we’re also picking away at smaller tasks for other goals.  This is nothing new, and I’m sure most responsible adults do it.

Hey mom, look at us we’re adulting!

I have a lot of trouble sleeping.  I use various combinations of Benadryl, dark shades on the windows, eye cover, lavender essential oil, a fan…these things often work well helping me get some shuteye.  Lately, however, my mind’s been racing and it’s interfering with the peepers.  I am a listmaker…meaning I make lists over and over and over again.  What do I need to do? What materials do I need? How much is this going to cost?  How long is this going to take? What can be done immediately? What’s out of my hands?  Can I even do this?

THEY SAY that if you make a to-do list when you can’t sleep will evacuate the brain and help you rest.  This doesn’t help much either but it’s a start.

Installing french drains is a pricey project that I had planned on for later in the future, so I’m starting to get sticker shock at all of the immediate needs all at once.

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A brief glance inside my brain:

PROJECTS

• Fix pool shed roof
• Fix garage roof and ceiling
  • Pull down sheetrock
  • Bleach
  • Find Leak and Repair
• French Drains
  • Dig Trenches
  • Stone
    • Calculate quantity
    • Quote Price
    • Get Delivered
  • PVC
    • Calculate length
    • Compare Prices
    • Order/Pickup
  • PVC Sleeve and Cement
• Fencing
  • Walk property and decide perimeter
  • Cut away brush along and around fence-line (Making progress!)
  • Educate myself about what the heck I’m doing (I’m halfway there)
  • Materials
    • Corner and Gate Posts
      • Price
      • Deliver
    • Line Posts (T Posts)
      • Deliver
    • Gates
    • Insulators (T-Post and Screw in)
    • T Post Caps
    • PolyRope
    • Grounding Rods
    • Charger
      • Decide What Kind
      • Decide How Much
    • Electric Gate Kit and other hardware
    • Tester
  • Choose Corner and Gate Post Locations
    • Mark with sticks
    • Buy Posts
    • Set Posts
  • Drive T Posts
  • Drive Grounding Rods
  • Run Line
  • Connect
• Barn Design
  • Site Prep
    • Choose location
    • Level slightly
    • Calculate Amount of StoneDust Needed for Pad
    • Quote Price
    • Deliver StoneDust
  • Shed Design
    • Complete design
    • Run design through professionals
    • Quote Materials
    • Deliver Materials
    • Rally helpers
    • Construct Shed
• Other Farm Necessities
  • Water
    • Rainwater Collection Plan
      • Gutter
      • Downspout
      • Water Tank
    • Water trough
    • H2Go Bag for Delivery from house
  • Temporary Shelter
  • Round Pen
  • Hay
    • Find a hay guy
    • Hay Delivery
  • Farm “Hold Harmless” signs
  • Pitchforks
  • Manure Management
• Other Life Necessities
  • Adulting and maintaining home (The most annoying part)
    • Normal adulting activities – blah
  • Mold remediation
    • Schedule
  • Garden (Coming soon!)
  • Power Wash
  • Burn moving boxes and brush once the burn ban is lifted
    • May 15th
  • Upcoming pool opening
  • Upcoming lawn mowing/need to learn how to operate tractor
  • Host house-warming party late summer
  • Don’t get house poor

..and of course the list goes on. Such is life.  First world problems.

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I’m not feeling totally overwhelmed because I’m keeping track of everything but the list never actually leaves my head.  Instead I am always working tasks around to try finding the best most efficient way to accomplish our tasks.  As we embark on one project my mind is thinking of the next step.  Zac has been remarkable in keeping my head right.  We both make an excellent team in this aspect.  We also always manage to get past our frustrations and fund something to smile about!