Hello sailorgurl
That's really good news. I can see that you are starting to take positive steps to resolve this.
Taking charge of your life and maintaining a positive attitude will serve to help you through those rough spots that you surely will encounter. Have a plan and try to put together, for want of a better word, a road map on the route you would like to plan for your transition, indicating the milestones along the way, and try to predict those rough spots and allow for changes that may affect your journey.
As you said this is the first small step on a journey of many steps. Stay positive, and keep us posted.
Take care,
Steph