Welcome, Fire Rooster

Can't say I am sorry to see that dratted Fire Monkey make his exit. Bye-bye, Fire Monkey, don't let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya. 

Truth be told the Fire Monkey kicked my ass. 

The year of the Fire Rooster brings better things! It portends an increase in civility, which will be a welcome change, and promises we'll see "maximum integrity." Seems like that is already underway. 

The good news is that I was born in the year of the Dragon - the Wood Dragon, to be exact. (I know

Me, before coffee

Zodiac of all kinds is bullshit, but read that description and tell me it doesn't sound like me! Especially the "wasting time over-analyzing" bit.)

"The year 2017 of the Fire Rooster will be full of positive events and very good news, career progress and profitable businesses for those born in the year of the Dragon. "

Me, after coffee

Looking forward to this! Of course, I don't expect the Rooster to do all the work. I have been more energized in the last few weeks (The lexapro has helped! Which I couldn't get without the ACA. Just sayin'.) Positive events and career progress don't just happen by themselves, with or without the help of mythical beasts.  Like all goals, they require planning; I hark back to my favorite inspirational quote: "A goal without a plan is just a wish."- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
 Now is a good time as any to start setting those goals and making those plans. 

Goal Setting 2017

Rebuild my inventory. That's job one. The rest all depends on this. To that end, I will block out my glaze firings, to give me a framework in which to schedule other aspects of production. 

Start sending out a newsletter! I actually spent the bucks - AND YOU KNOW HOW I HATE TO DO THAT - for Publisher, to reify this. The right tools matter, and I tried dinking around with OpenOffice to get this done last year, and it didn't go well. 

This actually needs to be an annual event, but it doesn't get done unless I type it out, so: I need to review my accounts, decide which are performing well as is, which consignment accounts would be better as wholesale, and which, sadly, are not making money for either of us. 

Get a truck! This is a biggie and a toughie. It's been an obstacle to doing art fairs for a while, so I decided to do it in reverse: apply for a fair I want to do, which will then force me to get a truck to make it happen! Of course, I might not get in the fair, there's never a guarantee; but either way I need a truck. I have my eye on a real vintage doozie, but any truck (that runs) is better than no truck. 

That's probably enough.  I have not forgotten that pushing myself too hard resulted in the Great Burnout of 2016, so will continue to build in self-care. I'm kind of excited that there is now a yoga studio in downtown Augusta, just a half mile from my house! I can't afford to go every week - most weeks I only have $15 (or less) discretionary income, and a yoga visit is $12 - but I promise myself to get there once or twice a month.  

Welcome, Fire Rooster, and be blessed, my muddy buddies. 💙