It's the beginning of October. My best friend's birthday month. It's a great month! Happy Birthday Christi all of October!
I'm saying it here because as I would mention it on FaceBook, right now FB is not my friend. I thought it was just a FireFox problem but I tried Explorer too and the same mess happened. I refresh and refresh and refresh and nothing ever happens except gobbledy goop. Folks that I have hidden are popping up in my status updates. Yes I hide a few of you. But don't worry I do check on you from time to time to see if everything is going smoothly. I don't get the inbox, I can't search my friends, I can't see other folks friends. Status updates that I know I saw yesterday are not there today. FB needs to get its act TOGETHER before there is a revolt.
On to bigger things. I made my first batch of soap on Thursday. YEA for me. It is lavender fragranced. My mother says it needs more fragrance and I am agreeing. She says it smells like a castille soap with a tiny bit of lavender. But it was my first and the local natural food shop was selling it for 10.99 a .5 oz bottle. So it was rather pricey. I just couldn't help myself so the family is not waiting for it to cure the 4 weeks and we are using it now. It's really cool! I'm testing it as face soap and hair shampoo to see what it does. It might be a little rough for the face but I haven't broke out or don't have burns yet! If I do a face bar and hair bar I will need to reformulate and add a few more moisturizing oils. But I am now waffling on my first "business" purchase of fragrances. I just need to do it. I already have a tribute soap to my grandmother. She will think it's great once I get it together. No, I'm not telling you what it is. Trade secret. You will have to check back later. I've asked my kids what fragrances they would like named after them. I've got one down. Sort of an ode to a candy bar. The other two I've got to pin down now.
Also, I'm unsure about the colorants to use. I have several bars from another soap maker that have colors (all natural I guess) but I don't like the way they bleed from the soap after use (especially the orange) but then if I don't use colorants how will I make my soaps unique from one another? Then some of the ideas there are no economical ways to produce a "natural" color such as a blueberry blue. Decisions decisions.
Anyway life is good.
Good night
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Time to use what God gave me
My husband and I have been trying for several years to think of what a good business would be to start. We have tossed everything around, from a mailing house to getting involved with selling Arbonne to thinking I could start a catering/dessert company from home to a bicycle repair shop to a machine shop to a custom motorcycle parts shop. All those things had roadblocks for us we found out and they were just unfillable dreams. Although I still think it would be pretty darn cool if we could open a custom motorcycle parts shop.
I can cook up a storm and make some killer cakes and desserts and cookies. However, getting people to pay for this treat is something I have not figured out how to do. My "clients" are mostly the congregation at church, the women in my small group, the people I work with in the offices I have worked at. Nothing that necessarily lends itself to payment just well appreciated praise.
And I don't door to door sell very well a product I've got to hype up. Arbonne is wonderful, don't get me wrong. I just don't know that many people that I feel comfortable enough with to push into buying. And that's a "user error", not a product error. You run out of friends real quick.
However, I have a chemistry degree. Which up to this point has done me absolutely nothing to further my life. Other than it's pretty cool to watch vinegar and baking soda explode.
So to the point. My husband and I with the kids recently walked through the biggest craft show in Atlanta area, The Yellow Daisy Festival. The first place I stopped and basically the only stuff I bought was at a soap tent. I love soap and smelly things.
This got the wheels turning in my head. I love to mix up things, thus the chemistry degree and the cooking fascination. So why not try my hand at homemade natural soaps! I talked about it with my husband and we are at the point where we both think this is a great idea and it is do-able.
I have spent the past several days searching for ingredients and recipes and books and fragrances. I have collected most everything except the NaOH which I believe will be the hardest to find as I've read that is what is used in meth making. So I will probably have to order that on-line. Also I am needing the fragrances. It has been really really neat to research. And I want all the fragrances I see but some are so expensive. Or excuse me I've learned the book difference between Fragrance oil (FO) and essential oil (EO). So it's a matter of me purchasing some of each, using them and deciding what I like about each.
I can just envision myself in my lab coat mixing different scents, writing it down in my super secret potion book. I am super excited about it. Mad scientist excited!
There is a 2-3 week cure time on this so I am trying to determine how far to invest myself in the first batch. I would hate to spend lots of money only to find out I can't do it or I don't like it. So my first batch is very important for me to get right.
I have received so many positive responses from all the people I have talked to. And everyone has given me so many more avenues to think about for expanding beyond just soap. And I am thinking about and researching all of it.
The big step is the first batch. Time to jump off that cliff. I just have to get the lye and fragrance
I can cook up a storm and make some killer cakes and desserts and cookies. However, getting people to pay for this treat is something I have not figured out how to do. My "clients" are mostly the congregation at church, the women in my small group, the people I work with in the offices I have worked at. Nothing that necessarily lends itself to payment just well appreciated praise.
And I don't door to door sell very well a product I've got to hype up. Arbonne is wonderful, don't get me wrong. I just don't know that many people that I feel comfortable enough with to push into buying. And that's a "user error", not a product error. You run out of friends real quick.
However, I have a chemistry degree. Which up to this point has done me absolutely nothing to further my life. Other than it's pretty cool to watch vinegar and baking soda explode.
So to the point. My husband and I with the kids recently walked through the biggest craft show in Atlanta area, The Yellow Daisy Festival. The first place I stopped and basically the only stuff I bought was at a soap tent. I love soap and smelly things.
This got the wheels turning in my head. I love to mix up things, thus the chemistry degree and the cooking fascination. So why not try my hand at homemade natural soaps! I talked about it with my husband and we are at the point where we both think this is a great idea and it is do-able.
I have spent the past several days searching for ingredients and recipes and books and fragrances. I have collected most everything except the NaOH which I believe will be the hardest to find as I've read that is what is used in meth making. So I will probably have to order that on-line. Also I am needing the fragrances. It has been really really neat to research. And I want all the fragrances I see but some are so expensive. Or excuse me I've learned the book difference between Fragrance oil (FO) and essential oil (EO). So it's a matter of me purchasing some of each, using them and deciding what I like about each.
I can just envision myself in my lab coat mixing different scents, writing it down in my super secret potion book. I am super excited about it. Mad scientist excited!
There is a 2-3 week cure time on this so I am trying to determine how far to invest myself in the first batch. I would hate to spend lots of money only to find out I can't do it or I don't like it. So my first batch is very important for me to get right.
I have received so many positive responses from all the people I have talked to. And everyone has given me so many more avenues to think about for expanding beyond just soap. And I am thinking about and researching all of it.
The big step is the first batch. Time to jump off that cliff. I just have to get the lye and fragrance
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Vacation/School/Etc
The past month has been incredibly busy.
We went on a vacation to Pensacola Beach FL the end of July. It was quite fun. I've never been to the gulf coast as an adult and the last time I went as a child I was probably 8 or 9. We stayed in a 2 bedroom condo right on the beach. It was beautiful. It did have a couple of issues. There were no ceiling fans in any rooms, the a/c had a governor on it that wouldn't go below 72, and the balcony had a glass barrier which gave a beautiful view of the beach however the a/c vent was directly on the balcony and all the hot air hit the glass and came back on the balcony instead of going through rails and out into the open.
The beach was a beautiful white and the condo overlooked the pool also. It was terrific weather. We had a couple of storms, one Tuesday night and one Thurs or Fri. We mostly ate in. That was great because I didn't have to get the kids in and ready to go out to eat. We did eat at Crabs and Peg Leg Petes. Very yummy. Peg Leg's has a drink called the Shipwreck which is very very good. Both had sand pits with playgrounds for the kids to play on while the adults ate. Very ingenious and I loved it!
We took the veggies from our Full Moon co-op and it was so great to not have to purchase much produce. We had fried potatoes and onions, boiled corn, BLTs with the tomatoes, stuff with basil in it, plus more which I can't remember. It was so fabulous. I really enjoyed that! If you can't grow your own veggies I really can't say enough about finding a local farming co-op or CSA in the area and joining. It really has been one of the best experiences in my culinary life. We have a farmer's market about an hour away but most of the produce is like the grocery store and driven in from out of state.
It was very humid. We did a little sightseeing. Drove to Fort Pickens. It had just opened from hurricane Ivan (2005 or 2006). Beautiful flat beaches. You are driving on a finger of land, water on the left and right and you can see both waters from the car. The humidity made the Fort Pickens visit a bit difficult to have a good attitude. And the fireants were everywhere. It is a brick fort. there is one part that got blown apart by the powder they stored there. And the only casualty was when a gun recoiled and knocked the solider down the stairs and he was crushed (I think). Ben said FP was his fav part of the vacation.
Also went on a sunset dolphin cruise. That was really cool. The boat was a fishing boat so we got to be closer to the water. We cruised through the sound and then around to the gulf. As soon as we hit the gulf the waters got so choppy. And walking was difficult. I was afraid someone would go overboard. Got to see the inside of the "head" with Gini. Something I don't want to see again. Very cramped. Sorta stinky. We saw probably a dozen dolphins. They were so close.
We drove past the Spaceship house on Pensacola Beach just about everyday.
Gavin's fav was the putt putt we did at 5pm in 110% humidity because he was afraid it would rain and we needed to do it before dinner.
Gini's fav was the pool (along with her brothers). They all turned into fishes. Ben learned how to dive to the bottom and do a one handed handstand underwater. Gavin learned how to swim a bit more and increased his confidence. Gini learned how to put her head underwater and stealthily swim into some pre-teen girls conversations.
And noone got sunburned!!! Not even me. I was sooo proud. The boys hated putting sunblock on but we kept telling them they would hate it even more if they got burned or sun poisoning. It didn't go too far with them but Eric and I won and through tantrums and crying put the stuff on them.
I learned all Publix's are not the same. At home, I get double coupons everyday and if I just want one of a BOGO I can get it at 1/2 price. Not so in PB. No double coupons and full price if you just buy 1 of BOGO. Also, the liquor stores there can have tastings. So I got to try a spiced rum (not Capt Morgan but something with a girl on the bottle). It was good. I'll buy it the next time I'm in the market.
Doing a comparison of PB and SSI or HHI or MB. I think I much rather like the Atlantic coast for my beaches. The #1 and probably only reason. The beaches on the Atlantic coast you can take long walks on hard sand and there is a difference between low and high tide. In PB, there was soft sand and then, boom, water. No hard packed sand to walk on or play paddle ball or foot ball or bocci ball. So the next beach we try will be St. Augustine beach.
Then it was home. We headed home through lower Alabama farmland which I thought was one of the neatest things on the trip. We saw many acres planted with something that had fuschia and white flowers. The only thing Eric and I could come up with is soybeans or cotton.
Eric and I brought home colds from the vacation! We both are still coughing 2 weeks later.
School started this week. My baby Gavin is a Kindergartener now. I'm so sad. He however is so excited. Every morning he asks if today is another school day. I am worried he may have dyslexia. He has been writing things backwards lately. I voiced my concern to his teacher and she said to give it a couple of months to see if it turns around. He is exhausted at the end of the day though. Last night he just melted down and thought everyone hated him. And said so to boot. My little boy just sobbing "you hate me, you hate me". He went to bed early so we will see how this afternoon/evening goes. Tues he fell asleep in the 5 minute ride we had to karate about 30 seconds before we arrived at karate.
Benji loves his class so far. He had a really rough time last year and this year he has said he is glad he is popular in his class this year. Hopefully the nasty little cliques that formed last year after Christmas won't happen this year and he will be happy. We are still having issues with his talking but I'm hoping we can hammer it home early this year that it is not acceptable and it is rude to his teacher for him to do that and this will stop once he settles in. He said yesterday he wasn't reprimanded for talking so we'll see.
I have been looking for places to visit for a fall getaway. I'm looking into Chattanooga for a long family weekend. Last year we went to Gatlinburg which was way too touristy for me. Someone at work asked if I would like to live in a remote area (b/c our boss is in Montana this week). I am all for it. I love quietness. I don't go to the mall. I shop at the local grocery stores and Target only. I really hate crowds. My 4 main places I choose to venture outside of home are church, school, work and grocery store. It would only be 3 if I didn't need to work. I like the occasional weekend activity but I don't want to be somewhere every weekend. Give me my kids, my husband, some books and games and good weather and I'm fine.
I feel like I've written a book. Well it's been a long time and much has happened.
JJ
We went on a vacation to Pensacola Beach FL the end of July. It was quite fun. I've never been to the gulf coast as an adult and the last time I went as a child I was probably 8 or 9. We stayed in a 2 bedroom condo right on the beach. It was beautiful. It did have a couple of issues. There were no ceiling fans in any rooms, the a/c had a governor on it that wouldn't go below 72, and the balcony had a glass barrier which gave a beautiful view of the beach however the a/c vent was directly on the balcony and all the hot air hit the glass and came back on the balcony instead of going through rails and out into the open.
The beach was a beautiful white and the condo overlooked the pool also. It was terrific weather. We had a couple of storms, one Tuesday night and one Thurs or Fri. We mostly ate in. That was great because I didn't have to get the kids in and ready to go out to eat. We did eat at Crabs and Peg Leg Petes. Very yummy. Peg Leg's has a drink called the Shipwreck which is very very good. Both had sand pits with playgrounds for the kids to play on while the adults ate. Very ingenious and I loved it!
We took the veggies from our Full Moon co-op and it was so great to not have to purchase much produce. We had fried potatoes and onions, boiled corn, BLTs with the tomatoes, stuff with basil in it, plus more which I can't remember. It was so fabulous. I really enjoyed that! If you can't grow your own veggies I really can't say enough about finding a local farming co-op or CSA in the area and joining. It really has been one of the best experiences in my culinary life. We have a farmer's market about an hour away but most of the produce is like the grocery store and driven in from out of state.
It was very humid. We did a little sightseeing. Drove to Fort Pickens. It had just opened from hurricane Ivan (2005 or 2006). Beautiful flat beaches. You are driving on a finger of land, water on the left and right and you can see both waters from the car. The humidity made the Fort Pickens visit a bit difficult to have a good attitude. And the fireants were everywhere. It is a brick fort. there is one part that got blown apart by the powder they stored there. And the only casualty was when a gun recoiled and knocked the solider down the stairs and he was crushed (I think). Ben said FP was his fav part of the vacation.
Also went on a sunset dolphin cruise. That was really cool. The boat was a fishing boat so we got to be closer to the water. We cruised through the sound and then around to the gulf. As soon as we hit the gulf the waters got so choppy. And walking was difficult. I was afraid someone would go overboard. Got to see the inside of the "head" with Gini. Something I don't want to see again. Very cramped. Sorta stinky. We saw probably a dozen dolphins. They were so close.
We drove past the Spaceship house on Pensacola Beach just about everyday.
Gavin's fav was the putt putt we did at 5pm in 110% humidity because he was afraid it would rain and we needed to do it before dinner.
Gini's fav was the pool (along with her brothers). They all turned into fishes. Ben learned how to dive to the bottom and do a one handed handstand underwater. Gavin learned how to swim a bit more and increased his confidence. Gini learned how to put her head underwater and stealthily swim into some pre-teen girls conversations.
And noone got sunburned!!! Not even me. I was sooo proud. The boys hated putting sunblock on but we kept telling them they would hate it even more if they got burned or sun poisoning. It didn't go too far with them but Eric and I won and through tantrums and crying put the stuff on them.
I learned all Publix's are not the same. At home, I get double coupons everyday and if I just want one of a BOGO I can get it at 1/2 price. Not so in PB. No double coupons and full price if you just buy 1 of BOGO. Also, the liquor stores there can have tastings. So I got to try a spiced rum (not Capt Morgan but something with a girl on the bottle). It was good. I'll buy it the next time I'm in the market.
Doing a comparison of PB and SSI or HHI or MB. I think I much rather like the Atlantic coast for my beaches. The #1 and probably only reason. The beaches on the Atlantic coast you can take long walks on hard sand and there is a difference between low and high tide. In PB, there was soft sand and then, boom, water. No hard packed sand to walk on or play paddle ball or foot ball or bocci ball. So the next beach we try will be St. Augustine beach.
Then it was home. We headed home through lower Alabama farmland which I thought was one of the neatest things on the trip. We saw many acres planted with something that had fuschia and white flowers. The only thing Eric and I could come up with is soybeans or cotton.
Eric and I brought home colds from the vacation! We both are still coughing 2 weeks later.
School started this week. My baby Gavin is a Kindergartener now. I'm so sad. He however is so excited. Every morning he asks if today is another school day. I am worried he may have dyslexia. He has been writing things backwards lately. I voiced my concern to his teacher and she said to give it a couple of months to see if it turns around. He is exhausted at the end of the day though. Last night he just melted down and thought everyone hated him. And said so to boot. My little boy just sobbing "you hate me, you hate me". He went to bed early so we will see how this afternoon/evening goes. Tues he fell asleep in the 5 minute ride we had to karate about 30 seconds before we arrived at karate.
Benji loves his class so far. He had a really rough time last year and this year he has said he is glad he is popular in his class this year. Hopefully the nasty little cliques that formed last year after Christmas won't happen this year and he will be happy. We are still having issues with his talking but I'm hoping we can hammer it home early this year that it is not acceptable and it is rude to his teacher for him to do that and this will stop once he settles in. He said yesterday he wasn't reprimanded for talking so we'll see.
I have been looking for places to visit for a fall getaway. I'm looking into Chattanooga for a long family weekend. Last year we went to Gatlinburg which was way too touristy for me. Someone at work asked if I would like to live in a remote area (b/c our boss is in Montana this week). I am all for it. I love quietness. I don't go to the mall. I shop at the local grocery stores and Target only. I really hate crowds. My 4 main places I choose to venture outside of home are church, school, work and grocery store. It would only be 3 if I didn't need to work. I like the occasional weekend activity but I don't want to be somewhere every weekend. Give me my kids, my husband, some books and games and good weather and I'm fine.
I feel like I've written a book. Well it's been a long time and much has happened.
JJ
Monday, July 13, 2009
a meal w/o rice
The earth must have opened up because I made a meal with no starch (aka rice or potatoes or pasta). It was great. Stir fried squash, onion, garlic, green bell pepper, carrots (all Full Moon) added some leftover cut up chicken burger from Gini's B-day and a breast from that Friday night with 1/2 tablespoon of peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and soy sauce. It was filling and delicious. I didn't even miss the rice.
Gini wants to shower. bye!
Gini wants to shower. bye!
Friday, July 10, 2009
YUM YUM YUM
Got my veggie box from Full Moon! Lunch was Full Moon tomato/"LEMON cucumber" salad. Oh dinner was so good tonight. Grilled chicken with a McCormick garlic herb seasoning, grilled Full Moon corn, Full Moon parsleyed buttered boiled red potatoes, Full Moon cucumber/tomato salad with oil/vinegar dressing. HEAVEN on a plate. The only things not Full Moon grown: the chicken, the butter, the oil/vinegar, and seasonings. Next up is cooking those beautiful delicate carrots tomorrow.
YUM
YUM
Thursday, July 9, 2009
More from the front
Food Poisoning it is not! Yesterday while I was on my walk, Gavin got sick and threw up and then the other later in the evening. So that is someone getting sick every other day since Saturday. Benji and Eric are next. Gavin though seems to be better today (no vomiting or other) although he went down for a nap at 1:30ish and it is 4:15 and he is still asleep.
Had to cut my walk short about 15 minutes last night. I'm doing very well. In the past 18 days I've walked approximately 3 miles a day for 16 of those 18. 16x3 is 48 miles. Wow, no wonder my shoes are looking worn on the bottom (they weren't new when I started). It takes me around an hour to walk around 3.5 miles. I can't wait until my 20 minute mile goes down to a 15 minute mile the a 10 minute mile. Watch out world!
Having to walk or do any exercise indoor or outdoor is extremely difficult with my children because ALWAYS about 20 minutes into it (when my heart rate is getting good and going) they ALWAYS have a catastrophe of some sort making it very difficult to get a good workout in.
Hopefully I will be able to walk without babysitting them tonight. Of course it's going to be sooo humid out. But I'll make it.
VBS has been this week. It's been fun for the boys. I'm glad Benji teared up on Sunday night and forced me to get them there. I will have to miss my Friday pickup for my veggies though because I've got to get the boy's haircuts and VBS show is Friday night so there is no time as of now. Things might change though. Plus I have to make dessert for Friday night and a cake for Saturday. And pack the boys for their vacation by Saturday night. Busy Busy Busy.
Yesterday was not good.
Had to cut my walk short about 15 minutes last night. I'm doing very well. In the past 18 days I've walked approximately 3 miles a day for 16 of those 18. 16x3 is 48 miles. Wow, no wonder my shoes are looking worn on the bottom (they weren't new when I started). It takes me around an hour to walk around 3.5 miles. I can't wait until my 20 minute mile goes down to a 15 minute mile the a 10 minute mile. Watch out world!
Having to walk or do any exercise indoor or outdoor is extremely difficult with my children because ALWAYS about 20 minutes into it (when my heart rate is getting good and going) they ALWAYS have a catastrophe of some sort making it very difficult to get a good workout in.
Hopefully I will be able to walk without babysitting them tonight. Of course it's going to be sooo humid out. But I'll make it.
VBS has been this week. It's been fun for the boys. I'm glad Benji teared up on Sunday night and forced me to get them there. I will have to miss my Friday pickup for my veggies though because I've got to get the boy's haircuts and VBS show is Friday night so there is no time as of now. Things might change though. Plus I have to make dessert for Friday night and a cake for Saturday. And pack the boys for their vacation by Saturday night. Busy Busy Busy.
Yesterday was not good.
Monday, July 6, 2009
hello Monday
Well, the "food poisoning"I don't think was food poisoning as Gini is now sick. I got to work at 8 and my phone was not charged. At 8:30 my mom got a hold of me and said my daycare provider called to say Gini had thrown up 3 times and to come get her.
I plugged my phone in to charge and I had received a VM from daycare saying she had done this between 8 and 8:20. So I had to turn right around after tying up a couple of loose ends at work and retrieve Gini from mom.
Last night it had been decided that the boys WOULD attend VBS this year (the oldest teared up when I said we wouldn't be going this year). So Mom was supposed to only pick up the boys and drop them off and go home to rest more from her stomach flu. Poor thing had then also to pick up Gini, take her to my house, rinse her off, then go register the boys. I felt so bad for her. I work an hour away. I so appreciate what she did for us today.
Gini is asleep now. Hopefully that will help her.
JJ
I plugged my phone in to charge and I had received a VM from daycare saying she had done this between 8 and 8:20. So I had to turn right around after tying up a couple of loose ends at work and retrieve Gini from mom.
Last night it had been decided that the boys WOULD attend VBS this year (the oldest teared up when I said we wouldn't be going this year). So Mom was supposed to only pick up the boys and drop them off and go home to rest more from her stomach flu. Poor thing had then also to pick up Gini, take her to my house, rinse her off, then go register the boys. I felt so bad for her. I work an hour away. I so appreciate what she did for us today.
Gini is asleep now. Hopefully that will help her.
JJ
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