Soaping fun

I was planning this great post about soaping.  I made some "end of the line" soap using all the rest of my oils.  When it's ready, it will probably be the most awesome soap I have made to date because it has cocoa butter and Shea butter and all that good stuff.  

Here are my empty buckets...

My lye pitcher in the sink cooling down after I measured the lye and water.

Safety first.  My snazzy goggles and gloves...

I use only the best equipment.  This is my fancy soap mold-- a cardboard box lined with freezer paper.

Here are the oils, all melted and cooling.

I used what was left of the Cucumbers and Melon fragrance.  It wasn't enough, so the soap doesn't really have a good scent.

So, here is where I was planning to show you all the mixing and the whipping (with a stick blender) and what it looks like at trace... Except that I got so involved in making the soap that I forgot to take pictures of the actual process.

Here is the burn mark on my counter from Mazie deciding to do iron beads unsupervised.  It's a good thing I live in a piece of crap trailer, or I would be really mad about this.

And, here is the soap in the mold.  After it's poured into the mold, it needs to be covered and insulated.  I just wrap it in a clean towel.  After 24 hours, it is cool and ready to cut.  The bars cure for two weeks afterward before they are ready to use. 

And, sadly, I still haven't mailed the soap that I'm sending out.  This week has just gotten away from me, and I haven't been into the post office.  I am planning to mail them today.  Sorry for the delay.

Next post.... my new love.... Vintage Inspired Jewelry.  Oh, I can't wait to show you all the stuff I've been making.  And, I have three pieces to GIVE AWAY!!!

Come back soon!

New Friends

There is just one thing that Josie really wanted.  I have been looking for free kittens for awhile now, and this week someone in our ward called and offered me two!  We are loving our new little friends.  The kids are having fun, and Josie is absolutely in heaven!

Apologies

Just as I committed to blogging regularly again, I have to sign off for a few days.  I won't have Internet access for a few days, but I will blog again Monday.  Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  Oh, and I will mail packages on Monday, too.  Sorry I can't get them out sooner.

Thanks for Coming!!!

I am so grateful to all of you who have come back to my blog after my long blogging hiatus.  So, I just went and bought three padded envelopes to send soap to the three who left comments, and lo and behold, Vic came back and left another comment.  Okay, so yours might be later, but I am sending soap out to all four of you to say thank you. 

More on soaping to come....

Today feels like the beginning of summer-- no, not because it is the first of June, but because I finally got the package from Lands End that had all of the kids new swim stuff in it.  Can we just say, "Happy Campers!"  I love it that their stuff always fits, while I am forever returning.  As I type they are out running through the sprinklers in new trunks and tankinis and new water shoes.  (Josie doesn't know that her swimming suit is a hand-me-down, and it's so dang cute, I don't think she would care.)  And, this summer I actually bought myself a new swimming suit, too.  Mine was looking ragged.   

After much debate, I finally broke down and bought this cutie from Lime Ricki. 

But, I didn't want my fanny hangin' out, so I bought the boy shorts instead of the little bottoms.

It came last week, and I really like it.  I'm looking forward to wearing it next weekend at the Big Twig pool with the kiddos. 

GIVE AWAY!

Ta-dah!  This is my second batch of soap.  I have since made a few more.  It's amazing to see how much you can get out of a relatively small batch.  So, this is the GIVE AWAY.  Who wants soap?  Leave me a comment.  Depending on how many responses I get, I will draw names.  I'm planning to give away a few bars, in a few different scents.  Then you can tell me what you think.  So far, I have to say, I am a big fan of homemade soap.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!

When Technology Goes Wrong

Tonight was Mazie's dance recital at the high school.  Last night was the dress rehearsal in the same place-- the high school auditorium.  Of course, both nights I had to use the bathroom while I was there.  The new high school has automatically flushing toilets.

Now, I'm all for technological advances, but this one bugs me to no end.  First of all, if there are toilet seat covers and you put one on the toilet, the movement sets off the sensor.  FLUSH!  Then you do your business and when you move to wipe, FLUSH!  Finally, you stand up and pull up your pants, and wait.... no flush.  Who invented these sensors anyway?  Is it so hard to flush a toilet that we have to have one that flushes itself?  So, I'm standing there waving my hand in front of the sensor now that the toilet actually needs to flush, and I have to push the microscopic back-up flushing button because the toilet, which thinks it knows when to flush, really doesn't. 

I liked the old, kick-flush toilets.  I know you were probably supposed to flush those with your hand, but nobody did, right?  The foot flush was more satisfying.  Even though you were going to go right out and wash, you didn't want to touch the public toilet flusher.  Now I cringe when I go into the stall and I don't see one of those big flushers.  Instead is the evil red dot on the back of the toilet trying to catch me wiggling and flushing too early. 

I'm all for automatic sinks and paper towel holders.  They seem to work just fine.  In one hotel lobby bathroom I was in recently, the sinks had automatic soap dispensers.  It was a nice idea, but like the toilet, faulty in execution.  I put my hand under the soap dispenser, and soap poured out.  It was hung over the sink, so any excess went into the sink.  That was a good idea.  However, when I rubbed my hands together and rinsed under the water, the soap dispenser kept spitting soap.  Motion, soap.  Motion, soap.  I'm sure they went through twice as much soap as they would have if they just let people pump their own.

If technology makes a job, like flushing the toilet and dispensing soap, harder than it actually is manually, where is the sense in it?  It's probably just me.  Doesn't this bother anyone else???


Okay, enough ranting for one day.  Spread the word, tomorrow I am starting GIVE AWAYS.  I have a few in mind.  Check back to win something that smells good, and makes you smell good, too.

P.S.  My spell-check button has returned!  Hip-hip hooray!

Let's Begin Again, Shall We?

I've been thinking about this blog a lot lately.  That, somehow, has not equated to updating.  However, I very much enjoyed blogging when I started, and I feel that I will enjoy it again, too.  So, I have decided to begin again. 

Check back tomorrow.  On my mind for tomorrow.... automatic toilets and a GIVE AWAY!