Starting a blog, starting a business, applying for a Federal Tax ID, and hoping to not transform my hobby into the proverbial elephant in the room.

Does anyone even know what a Federal Tax number is used for, and if I get one, am I then bound by some unseen force to generate taxes?

I love to make soap. I love to research the different kinds of ingredients and what they do to enhance the product and the skin. I enjoy searching out special additives to add to the mix, like cinnamon, lavender, and wildcrafted mesquite beans which I can grind into powder. I like to stir and blend the base oils in my big soap pot. I like the way the brown apothecary bottles of essential oils feel in my hands, and the exotic fragrances as they pour from the glass. I love the large, five-pound loaf of soap that comes out of my mold a fanciful lump ready for cutting and curing, full of glycerin and healthy lather. Did I mention I love to make soap?

Did I mention I did not love applying for that Federal Tax number? You never know where something like that might lead.