Getting Back into It

So, after my last event, I basically hit the wall. I thought my feet might fall off and I found myself unable to complete simple sentences. I needed a break. But before I had one, I had to jam all of my holiday shopping + card making + decorating + baking into four days. Then, I took one glorious week off. Jere had the week off between Christmas and New Year's off, too, so our days were full of cozying up on the couch and marathon Boggle playing. It was heaven. Seriously.

Yesterday was my first day getting back into the groove and I've been dipping one toe in at a time. It wasn't until about mid-afternoon today that I felt a huge whoosh of inspiration. Ideas and excitement started washing over me. Valentine's Day gift sets, a limited edition chocolate and champagne soap, a new unisex design for the permanent collection and my 3rd annual Valentine's Day Soap Drive for Rosie's Place. Couple this cluster of ideas with office and studio organization and I've got a full month of conceptualizing and cementing plans for the year.

Did I mention taxes? A touchy subject for me, actually. I started getting excited about the 7500 dollar 1st time buyer's tax credit until I realized, again, that I am one year shy of qualifying. Only 2 years had elapsed in between the time I bought our current house and the selling of the condo I had with my ex. I sort of forgot this, as I attempted the same this last year. Argh! I read, though, that unmarried couples who jointly own a home (which was purchased within the qualifying period) could have an advantage. If one of the two owners is a true 1st time home buyer, then that person is eligible for the credit. So, one of my big "to-do" items is getting Jere on the mortgage and deed pronto (or possibly refinancing with him) so that we can split the credit. That's more than 3000 buckaroos each, so we are taking this pretty seriously.

We are thinking about getting married this year. We've been together for four years now, so I think we might be ready. I heard that my ex remarried, like, right away! Wowzers. I've been in a stable relationship for some time now and I am JUST starting to feel ready. Details to follow on this as we, um, plan them, I guess. We have one thing finalized for the wedding, which is a surprise. We've had this little piece in the works for a while now and we can't wait to realize it. So, this could be the year that we do.

I've decided that this is going to be a real "take the bull by the horns" sort of year for me and my business. Last March, I was full of energy and passion, but I felt that I had no direction. How could I? It was the year of the playing the the proverbial sand box. Now, I feel as though I have a base, so I am more confident and eager to start spreading my seed all over the fucking place. And I am predicting lots of risk-taking in my future. I'm going to be kicking out the jams, people.