tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56143947251700474802024-03-13T04:54:11.038-05:00The Ladybug's SoapboxA place to display my soaping adventure, crafts I like to do, share my thoughts and interests and to be able to give back a little to the 'net that helped me so much in my times of need. The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-79942551868252400432017-03-27T17:30:00.000-05:002017-03-27T18:22:05.767-05:00Chemical Reactions and the Homemade Slime Scare<div class="MsoNormal">
I have kept quiet about the whole homemade slime dangers
until now. Everyone assumes that the problems with the homemade slime has been
with the borax. After watching a video from a news channel where the child had
received chemical burns from her homemade slime I had to speak out. Her doctors
suspect that it was the borax. Considering that I have been using a solution of
borax to neutralize my homemade liquid soap, I just had to do some more
research. Borax is used in several
products as a buffer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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No one ever considers that the problem might be the chemical
reaction. After all, the whole homemade slime experiment is a chemical
reaction. You take a PVA glue (Polyvinyl Acetate) and adding a solution of
borax. PVA reacts to the boron components in borax in a predictable way causing
the PVA to become similar to rubber. The chemical reaction also happens to
convert the PVA to polyvinyl alcohol and acetic acid.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Most recipes I see online are almost always in volume.
Teaching myself how to get consistent result to my own crafting, I learned long
ago to use a good scale to weigh my formulas. Did anyone ever consider that
something went wrong in the measuring? What happens when you add more on one
ingredient than another? <o:p></o:p></div>
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People, chemicals put together make something else
altogether. So while PVA glue may be safe and borax when used in the
appropriate manner may be safe, what happens when the formula for slime is not
followed exactly as it should be? What is the resulting chemically reaction
that is the cause for the problems that have been showing up. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Is slime made with borax the problem? I don’t know. I just
wish more scientific facts went into the warnings rather than hysteria. I have
read the Material Safety Data Sheet on borax. Which is why I ended up using it
in my liquid soap neutralizations. I need to do more research for my own
edification. I just wish more people would do their own research before jumping
into these bandwagons. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For the record, I have never made slime. When I was very
small my father gave me a whole bunch of slime which I didn’t know what to do
with. I have never seen the appeal of slime, though my daughter does love
playing with it. I just had a problem with the pointing of fingers at borax
with no real facts that it was the cause of the burning. I recommend caution, parental guidance, and lots of research.<o:p></o:p><br />
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*P.S. Also note that many also add food coloring and glitter. Craft glitter is NOT skin safe. All the glitter in my soaps and lotions are cosmetic grade glitter. How will the craft glitter react when exposed to polyvinyl alcohol? Food coloring may be safe to ingest, but that doesn't also mean it is skin safe. Think about applying a jalapeno to your skin as opposed to eating them. Many hobby stores have colorants and glitter made for melt and pour soaps.</div>
The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-82786353698536274412016-01-11T14:15:00.002-06:002016-01-11T14:19:28.817-06:00Pink Leopard Soap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uQlQvTaw3bouoS79AsUBR-UY-_wnSftmF6iJF6AmLQe624Mgeb6LZavtZKcKY14MCm6IX2R8d2QnE2RieszdMaMQpYdIMiGkmhOcJxV0M4TMmrANe8pjh2-yxfDJQIb3OBT7SfGf9EQ/s1600/Pink-Leopard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uQlQvTaw3bouoS79AsUBR-UY-_wnSftmF6iJF6AmLQe624Mgeb6LZavtZKcKY14MCm6IX2R8d2QnE2RieszdMaMQpYdIMiGkmhOcJxV0M4TMmrANe8pjh2-yxfDJQIb3OBT7SfGf9EQ/s640/Pink-Leopard.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I really like how this soap turned out. I always loved the spots of leopards. This soap reminds me of a particular person I know of. She always would wear leopard print. I think she would have loved this soap. This was a very fun soap to make even though it did take a bit to make. I watched cake decorating videos as well as some leopard print soap videos to get the gist of how to make this. I kept in mind my elementary art teacher's advice about randomly placing items. I think I will be making this soap again, though probably in different colors.<br />
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I am still hand cutting all my soaps so they are uneven. I try to cut them to weight 4 ounces. Obviously, some will weight a bit more than than. All soaps that weight less than 4 ounces will be cut into sample sizes if there are any. The soap is scented with Black Cherry.<br />
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The ingredients are: Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil, Aqua (water), Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Lard, Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance, mica, titanium dioxide, manganese violt, iron oxide, tin oxide, chromium oxide green, ultramarine blue.<br />
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This soap is available for $7. Buy 4 soaps, get one free with all orders shipped free. I use only skin safe ingredients. Every person is created different with different allergies. I listed everything I use in this soap for your information. However, if a rash or irritated skin occurs, stop using the product immediately.<br />
<br />The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-26158982485381560282016-01-11T14:11:00.000-06:002016-01-11T14:12:51.308-06:00The End of My WebsiteIt is with sadness in my heart that I must close my beautiful website. I don't have the sales to keep it open at this time. Perhaps in the future I will be able to open it again. I will keep my Etsy shop open though. Since I am just starting out selling, I will just keep a current inventory on my facebook business page in a photo album. When I get some interest, I will just put together a custom listing until I sell enough product to keep my inventory listed on Etsy. I know this is not ideal for many, but I just don't have the resources to keep my entire inventory on Etsy at this moment. I am very happy that Etsy does make it so easy for me to put up a listing and take payment which was a problem for me on the website.<br />
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I will be trying to do some more promoting of my business using this blog, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. Just remember, I am a Domestic Engineer (Stay at Home Mom) whose children come first. I homeschool all my children, I am part of a Children's Ministry team and we are still without a home as yet. I know that I will adjust eventually to shouldering a bigger load, but I am warning you that I will most likely have spotty posts until I find my groove.<br />
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Links to keep in mind: <br />
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Facebook==><a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheLadybugsSoapbox/" target="_blank">The Ladybug's Soapbox</a><br />
Instagram==><a href="https://www.instagram.com/theladybugssoapbox/" target="_blank">theladybugssoapbox</a><br />
Pinterest==><a href="https://www.pinterest.com/ladybugsoapbox" target="_blank">Ladybug Soapbox</a><br />
Etsy Shop==><a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/LadybugSoapbox" target="_blank">The Ladybug's Soapbox</a><br />
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My email is ladybugsoapbox@gmail.com<br />
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Thank You and God Bless<br />
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Carol J.The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-37177114056961628492015-12-09T11:02:00.001-06:002015-12-15T13:57:34.680-06:00Christmas Giveaway--Closed<span style="color: red;">December 15, 2015 This Drawing is now CLOSED Congratulations to Catherine Orvis Gilpin</span><br />
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Merry Christmas! I hope that everyone is having a wonderful Holiday season. I wanted to write this quick little post to offer you a Christmas Giveaway. In celebration of my new website store, I am going to give away 2 soaps and 2 lip butters of the winner's choice. In order to win this giveaway, simply comment on this blogpost or the facebook post on my business page which soaps and lip butters you would like. My family and I will put your names in a bowl and do a drawing. Only one name will be entered, so you don't have to post multiple times. The winner will be randomly chosen.<br />
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Please comment by Tuesday, December 15, 2015 at noon. That way I can send out the winner's package the next day so that, hopefully, they will get it in time for Christmas. The winner will be notified immediately.<br />
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Which soaps are your favorites? Available soaps can be viewed on my <a href="http://www.ladybugsoapbox.com/" target="_blank">website</a>.<br />
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<span style="color: red;">December 15, 2015 This Drawing is now CLOSED Congratulations to Catherine Orvis Gilpin</span><br />
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Merry Christmas from the Ladybug's Soapbox.The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-68037176229836807402015-11-14T13:46:00.001-06:002015-11-14T13:46:34.802-06:00Green Apple Tall and Skinny ShimmyWell this week has been such a crazy week. My hosts are having an early Thanksgiving dinner this week and I have been trying to help out. Now of course I am down to the wire entering the soap challenge for this month. I have to say I think I need to practice a bit more.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieH8DmflSDaTKUWxwJvF9LZO7QbXRv11IuzFw6RmuIJCWOXXKHv0jgBoOHGIRQFTbjf2XPTMShBBmBOhbOkM3Zw6aE1uB4KIDiRVcBPp6T8_zI1ug8TZwqF3qgDuHFWzpAT6zBFBmX0Q/s1600/IMG_0006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieH8DmflSDaTKUWxwJvF9LZO7QbXRv11IuzFw6RmuIJCWOXXKHv0jgBoOHGIRQFTbjf2XPTMShBBmBOhbOkM3Zw6aE1uB4KIDiRVcBPp6T8_zI1ug8TZwqF3qgDuHFWzpAT6zBFBmX0Q/s320/IMG_0006.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is my first soap, the colors didn't turn out quite how I wanted. I made the mold from foamcore as suggested, but I didn't follow the instructions too well. I made the box so that the skinny part of the mold was 2.5". Well I then didn't calculate for the new volume so my soap was squarish. I didn't achieve the cute little "s" design and I had tails. I also has a difficult time getting it out of the mold. So I went back to the drawing board.<br />
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This time with my leftover foamcore, I made a longer mold. I calculated the proper volume for this mold this time. I didn't have big enough paper cups so I used my condiment containers. Since my scent is green apple, I went with a graduated green for my color scheme.<br />
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I have to say that I did like using the paper cups as suggested. It was a bit difficult for me to keep the soap flowing down the side of the mold. I had trouble keeping my mold on one pencil of the other. The heavier the mold got, I had more slippage which may have been one reason I didn't get the "s" design. Plop! Ugh.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaa1eCV1PM6zo4h7i-xdsZ_rdVsbm5kxpQpTBwA1saTxZvPzzxX3POV12STcDdpQwhqweBzNSWWW3n9q6TBL2eNssGm37Q47hNhpRvIDzeKTrJpj3VYRBy1LW8yUXjIm_LYLX_mv6p9YA/s1600/IMG_0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaa1eCV1PM6zo4h7i-xdsZ_rdVsbm5kxpQpTBwA1saTxZvPzzxX3POV12STcDdpQwhqweBzNSWWW3n9q6TBL2eNssGm37Q47hNhpRvIDzeKTrJpj3VYRBy1LW8yUXjIm_LYLX_mv6p9YA/s320/IMG_0009.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My nephew really wanted to help out</td></tr>
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I didn't want to leave the top plain, so I did a quick design. This soap was also difficult to get out of the mold even after waiting three days. I don't usually have to wait very long especially with a Trinity soap batter. Not in my neck of the desert and not with a water discount. Next time I will be using sodium lactate. I ended up having to shred that mold.<br />
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Here is my finished soap. It is pretty even though I didn't get the design I was hoping for. I love how the colors turned out.<br />
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I do plan on making another mold, though with the plastic sign board my friend gave me. It is blank. I am going to try again. That is once I get my things back from storage. I had so much fun doing this soap challenge, it has helped me so much get out of a funk. I look forward to the next one.<br />
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Carol H.The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-29903438614154571282015-11-10T17:00:00.000-06:002015-11-10T17:00:04.526-06:00Announcement! I have a website and an Etsy store!Well with the encouragement of my friends and family I have decided to sell my soaps. I really don't expect a lot of sales at first. And really, I only want to sell my soaps so that I can support my addiction to making soap so I can make more soap. Thank you to all my friends and family who have supported my little hobby. I enjoy making soap and I enjoy when my soaps get admired.<br />
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Here are the links: <a href="http://www.ladybugsoapbox.com/" target="_blank">The Ladybug's Soapbox</a> website<br />
<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/LadybugSoapbox" target="_blank">My Etsy Store</a><br />
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I have some more soap to add. I took a little trip to Bisbee to raid our storage unit. Cowboy Preacher had no clothes for the colder weather so I took advantage and grabbed a few of my supplies and products.<br />
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I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.<br />
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Carol Harvey<br />
Head Artisan and Owner<br />
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Happy Dance!<br />
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PS: I'll be offered some more coupons for the Holiday season.The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0Las Cruces, NM, USA32.3199396 -106.7636537999999932.1052981 -107.08637729999998 32.5345811 -106.44093029999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-18521097233492559092015-11-10T09:00:00.000-06:002015-11-10T09:00:05.576-06:00Head Lice!? ICK!!You know, as a child, I remember endures lice checks at school. I never had them. I am certain that if I did, my mother would have be just as grossed out as I was, if not more so. (Does anyone know how freaked out Asians get about being dirty, associated with being dirty, and how they will do just about anything to be clean?) School started in Las Cruces in August. I had heard in the news about several states having problems with pesticide resistance head lice. Like any other person, I thought that THAT wouldn't happen to me.<div>
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The schools here had a major outbreak. But I homeschool, so I wasn't worried about it. The laugh was on me. My children have been enjoying playing with their cousins who, of course, go to school. One thing lead to another and yes, they did get lice. I had lice, Cowboy Preacher had a few lice. ACK!</div>
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Here is what I did. Due to a little Facebook poster all of Las Cruces had a tea tree oil shortage, but since I keep a bottle of the stuff in my purse I had some around. I put some in the shampoo and conditioner. Since Cowboy Preacher is allergic to tea tree oil, I bought some homeopathic lice spray and shampoo. By the way, Lice Freee is some awesome stuff. One application to Cowboy Preacher and the lice never came back. Being very sensitive, he said the stuff did sting a little. Then I used a lice comb and combed everyone's hair. That is nasty to do, if I have to say so myself.</div>
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I spent even more money going to a laundromat to get all the bedding washed. Then I had Cowboy Preacher buy some diatomaceous earth which I sprinkle everywhere we slept. On one boy, I had to dust his hair with the DE since he was finding it a little difficult to rid himself of the ugly little pests.</div>
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After a few days, I added some tea tree oil to my hair coconut oil. I learned later from a friend that lice don't like oily hair. Which confounds me since both Cowboy Preacher and I have really oily hair. But I was happy that my intuition lead me to start oiling up everyone's hair (except Cowboy Preacher, of course). I had only used the coconut hair oil on my daughter and myself before. I also left a lot of conditioner on my hair. </div>
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We were completely lice free that first week, but I kept up the oil for a few weeks after that. I have to say these lice were a bit difficult to get rid of being pesticide resistant. I knew a few people who tried to use the pesticide stuff to handle these ugly pests, but they didn't work well at all. The homeopathic stuff worked great, but I wanted to try to save what little money we had and work with what we had. I do have 5 children after all. The bottle of spray wouldn't have lasted long. The spray smelled like a cross between anise and Chloraseptic. </div>
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I pray that this never happens again, but if it did, I am going straight for the tea tree hair oil again. That seemed to have worked the best. Notice I didn't give any amounts? I did that purposefully. I did my research and I know how much to use for my family. I don't know who reads my blog but I am sure that everyone is different. What I use for my family will most likely not work for yours. I did my research, you do yours. I know for a fact that Cowboy Preacher is allergic to tea tree oil. I know my children are not. I also know how to use this essential oil properly on my family due to my extensive research. Please do your own research. Use of essential oils is serious business.</div>
The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-67181838097495854522015-11-10T02:24:00.000-06:002015-11-10T02:24:25.589-06:00Update: Where the Heck Have You Been?So after Independence Day we packed our final possessions into the storage unit and made our way towards Las Cruces, NM. It was rather stress since we did get a call from the Chairman of the Board demanding we vacate that day and that we should've left the house the day before. I really wanted to remind the Board that 30 days should have started on the day we were informed not 30 days from when they decided fire us. But we chose to just leave, because all that would have done was stress my children out even more.<br />
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Since we left Bisbee we have been staying with a really good friend. Her family has been good and kind to ours since I was 11. It has been a really blessing. The adjustment for both of our families hasn't been too bad. I mean, it has to be a shock to a family of three to welcome the chaos of a family of seven.<br />
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Meanwhile, we have taken two trips across the country in search of another church to serve. Both of those didn't come to fruition. And as a result, my children will never go again on a trip for an interview. Churches always want to see the whole family but they do not take into account the children's view when for whatever reason we don't get that church. The mother in me does not want to see the crushed spirit in their eyes in looking for another church home.<br />
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Thankfully, we have found a church home in my home church. The church that ordained us has accepted us into their ministry team. Cowboy Preacher and my home pastor will be co-pastors and I will once again be helping out with the children's ministry. I didn't realize how much I missed being a part of children's ministry until I started doing this again.<br />
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I had not written in such a long time because, well, a lot of different things really. One: I am thankful for my friend, but realize that we are basically living out of her guest room. The possessions of seven people are stored in that one room. The kids sleep on the sofas and floors in the living room, but come morning it has got to go back into the guest bedroom. Granted that after living here awhile, some spillable has occurred (ie. our homeschool boxes are in the dining area and some of my soapmaking supplies are in the kitchen.) I try to contain as much of our things as we can, but with 5 kids, things do tend to be messy.<br />
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Two: Shockingly, time has been a factor. I do laundry at my brother's home and my dad's. If you have ever had to take your laundry to the laundromat, you have some idea of the amount of time that takes. We have plugged into a wonderful homeschool group here in Las Cruces and I do need to spend some time schooling as well. We also help around the house with chores and clean up my dogs messes. My friend has asked for my help with organizing her possessions as well and I try to do that in between cooking, laundry, teaching, and so on and so forth. Time that sneaky concept that slips through fingers without notice.<br />
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Third and final: Healing. I needed to heal quite a bit. Having to leave in such a hurry was extremely stressful. Moving again in less than a year since moving to a new home and job and having to find a new home and job so suddenly. I had to deal with my children's hurt, their insecurities and their loss of friends once again. I needed to support my husband. I needed to be a beacon of hope for my family while all I wanted to do was fall apart and cry. 2015 has been a year of loss. My mother-in-law and Aunt-in-law passed away weeks away from each other before we were fired. Then as I was frantically packing my cousin Barbara died. I wasn't really close to her, but I remember my father talking about her and we were getting to know each other better via Facebook. Then the complicated emotions to deal with when my own mother suddenly passed away in August. I really need to heal first. Words did not want to form into sentences. I had no desire to write. I still have no desire to video as yet. But I have started to heal due to my home church. I know the Lord watches over me. I know things could have been a lot worse. I am so thankfully for the congregation at Agape Christian Church. Their name says it all. Agape.<br />
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So that is where I am now. We have a church to serve the Lord, now we need employment and our own house to make a home. I am ecstatic that we will be staying here for awhile. It has been wonderful to see my brother, my sister, and my father so much. I am so happy to come back to the church that taught us that we all as christians, are part of the greatest family ever created. God's Family has always been enough for my little family and it is great to be part of a church who realizes this same truth. My biological family may also be in this same town, but my family has once again grown. I have been supported by my brothers and sisters in Christ and also gained new brothers and sisters. Together we will spread God's message across our town and further.The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-89956144937028943172015-06-12T10:10:00.002-05:002015-06-12T14:45:17.067-05:00I Know Who Holds TomorrowI have a great Lord and He has given me several amazing friends. They have come through shining with the light of Jesus. At the very least our possessions will be put in storage through the help of many of my friends. Thank you so much.<br />
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To my friends I want to give you such great hugs as you have uplifted me and listened to my concerns. When tiny irritations have popped up, you, my friends have sent encouragements and prayers.Thank you so much.<br />
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As I begin to sort through my things to make moving and or storage possible, I want to thank all my supporters. Yesterday as I was doing my morning chores, I was singing because the Lord through you had made my heart glad. It was amazing because the little flock of birds that live in the palm tree beside the parsonage were joining in my song. That morning was alive with life, love and music.<br />
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I love that I have friends from many walks of life and different faiths. I so value their contributions because they help me to grow as a person. You are a kind bunch of people who have no problem telling the truth. I want you to know who much that means to me.<br />
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Now I need to be back to packing, but I wanted to share with you a song that has been lurking in the back of my mind. I love to sing this song and now the words take on an even deeper meaning for my family.<br />
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May the Lord bless you for your kindness to my family.<br />
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On a side note: I had two friends stop by the house yesterday to do a quick soap session. I had loads of fun even though I didn't really get a chance to impart most of my knowledge. I love making soap and I love teaching others about making soap. Thank you for the diversion.The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-65225561162700780552015-06-09T09:50:00.000-05:002015-06-09T09:50:25.735-05:00Soapbox: I want to be like AbelThis is a Soapbox post because my family is going through some turmoil at the moment. After serving in the Worship service and after the coffee refreshment, our family was asked to leave the church. Cowboy Preacher preached his last sermon at this pulpit. I sang my last song in that church. My children are devastated by the suddenness. They don't understand how someone can smile, chat and ask after you and then do this. In 30 days we have to vacate the parsonage, whether we find another place or not. We have no grace from this Bride of Christ.<br />
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As I pack up our possessions, not knowing if we will even get a van to move it. Knowing that we might have to leave it all. We may have to leave years worth of our things we had collected. We have moved quite often of late and we are mostly down to the very few things that mean something to us. On top of that, we bought new beds for all the kids. It is painful to think about leaving this stuff. The years worth of craft supplies I collected costs a lot of money. My soap supplies, my beads, my paints and scrapbook papers. My children's keepsakes and toys may all have to be left. It was breaking my heart.<br />
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Then the Lord whooped me upside the head. He set my thoughts upon Cain and Abel. The story is that Abel gave the Lord the best of his efforts. Cain didn't. I thought back to an article I had read in the last several months about what people give to churches and charities isn't the best. It is often second hand and we no longer have a use for it in our households. It is a second thought. We know who is going to end up getting these things and we don't put forth our best efforts. We see where they are in life and we don't think much of it. We forget they are children of God even if we and they have forgot it. As we try to give the best to our own children to give them a boost into the cruel world, to fully equip them for this world and beyond, shouldn't we also do so for the other children, the children of God?<br />
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We should be giving our best efforts to shine the light of Jesus. Our best, not our second best. We do not show the love and grace of my great and almighty God when we don't put in our best effort. I want to be like Abel. I have often found myself doing the Cain thing without thought. I do my best efforts for my own benefit. I am going to have to work better on being like Abel. God has blessed me so often He deserves to be my first thoughts and my best efforts.<br />
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So while my best efforts are not enough for the world, I know that the Lord sees me doing my best and that is all that matters. As I pack up our possessions not knowing if we will have to leave them, I know that He is in my heart and that is all I need. So if I cannot take them with us, I will do my best to organize them so that someone else may be blessed with them. If the Lord chooses to bless another with these delightful possessions He had blessed us with, then I hope it is His love and care that shines through. As I clean and prepare this dwelling for another servant of God, I will put forth my best efforts. The Lord has blessed my family and I many times, so I can leave knowing that I am leaving my trappings to the Lord.<br />
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As we step into a new adventure following the Lord, I will put in my best efforts. I want to be like Abel. Where would the church be today if we all gave our best? If we were to have Abel's heart of giving? I want to be like Abel, how about you?<br />
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The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-55832574713517214592015-06-04T13:54:00.000-05:002015-06-04T13:54:07.778-05:00Grandpa Al's Peanut Butter Cookie RecipHi Everyone,<br />
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I thought I would stop by and type up this really quick post. I'm reorganizing my paperwork again and I came across this email I had printed up. You see, my sister had this habit of asking me for Dad's peanut butter cookie recipe every few months or so. I'm not sure if she keeps misplacing the recipe or what, but I had typed on the bottom of the email. "Don't Delete This Message!!!" I thought I would go ahead and post it on my blog so I have it handy to send to her again whenever she requests it again. I love you Young! Yes, her real name is Young. It means "Eternal or Forever" in Korean. I think I am getting over being the only kid in the family to have been born in South Korea NOT to have a Korean name.<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
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1/2 cup butter<br />
1/2 cup white sugar<br />
1/2 cup brown sugar<br />
1/2 cup peanut butter<br />
1 egg<br />
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour<br />
1/4 tsp salt<br />
1/2 tsp vanilla extract<br />
3/4 tsp baking soda<br />
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Instructions:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Preheat oven to 375°F.</li>
<li>Cream together butter, white sugar and brown sugar together for 5 minutes.</li>
<li>In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking soda, set aside.</li>
<li>Add egg to butter mixture, mix well. Add peanut butter and vanilla extract and mix well. </li>
<li>Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix well.</li>
<li>Make 1" balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet 2 to 3 inches apart. Make the characteristic pattern on the cookie dough using a fork. Take care not to smash the dough too much.</li>
<li>Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 10-12 minutes.</li>
<li>Cool 1 minute and remove to cooling racks. </li>
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That's pretty much it. I confess that I do use more than 1/2 cup of peanut butter but I haven't changed the recipe to reflect this as yet. I am sure that it will trip up my kids when they want to make cookies like mom, but I haven't decided which recipe I like more, so I keep the original. I may have to make a little trial to see which cookie is favored.</div>
The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-40719345812428846832015-05-15T22:33:00.001-05:002015-05-15T22:36:20.561-05:00Great Cake Soapworks May 2015 Soap Challenge: Mini Dessert Soaps.I entered the soap challenge again. I was going to enter the April one as well but I missed the deadline. It was probably just as well, April was a sad month for my husband. He lost both his mother and his aunt within a week of the other. It has been a bit difficult.<br />
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Anyhow, I was excited to see what this month's challenge would be. When I started making soap, my very second soap was a brownie soap. I didn't have any other scent other than vanilla and I colored it with cocoa powder. He said I was evil and asked that I not make soap that looked or smelled like food. So I was happy to be part of this challenge just to needle my husband. Really, it was quite nice of him to think so well of my efforts in soap making. I didn't feel like it was realistic, but he must have.<br />
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The ideas were pouring through my head and it was difficult to pin just four down. I enjoy these challenges because there is a goal to achieve in your very own way. I find it funny how goals can boost creativity rather than suppress them. I wanted to play with that fondant soap, so I made some immediately. I used to play with polymer clay,so I thought I could sculpt something cute. I knew I wanted to make a parfait as an homage to my days working at Dairy Queen. The rest was still very much up in the air.<br />
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So here is what I am going to enter: a Orange Strawberry Parfait, a Gingerbread House with Gingerbread Maude (she just feels like a Maude to me), a dressed up Brownie Bite, and a mini Strawberry Swirl cake with glazed strawberry topper. All the cold process soap has goat milk and the brown soap has cocoa powder. The seeds are blueberry.<br />
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I originally had a chocolate fudge parfait, but well, it looked melted. And my cherry was ugly and I didn't wait long enough to add the silly thing. As you can see, my fragrance didn't give my anytime before bleeding into the unscented soap. I was going for a bit of a messy parfait since I know from making them, they don't look picture perfect. Often one machine was not freezing as nicely as it was supposed to. But well, I wasn't really happy with the chocolate fudge one, so I decided to make another kind.</div>
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Strawberry was on my mind. I decided to make a Strawberry Swirl Cake with my round embed mold from Brambleberry. I had made mini strawberries with the fondant soap, so I was just going to add a Strawberry Parfait. I used some melt and pour soap to make my strawberry sauce.</div>
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All I had to do was to roughly chop it into little chunks. I didn't have any strawberry seeds, so those are blueberry seeds you see there in the picture. (My youngest son, Lil' Duder, thought it was watermelon soap.) So all I had to do was add the strawberry chunks and drizzle with some more melt and pour colored with mica. (Full disclosure: I used a red mica that I knew discolored in cold process to orange, but didn't think about contact within my finished product. I was dismayed when I went to take pictures until I remembered I used Nature's Garden Citrus Strawberry fragrance, so I just changed it to an Orange Strawberry Parfait.) Most of the white soap I left unscented. My fondant strawberrys were too small to use as a topper so I just added my leftover chocolate soap that I was playing with my piping. I watch too many cooking shows sometimes, </div>
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I wanted to frost the outside of the mini swirl cakes, but I didn't manage my time very well. The middle frosting was still very squishable while my frosting soap was stiffening fast. And I was getting tired. These soap take quite a bit of work. Since I couldn't pipe the fancy cake frosting on, I decided to dip my mini strawberry fondants into some clear melt and pour to make glazed strawberries. I love glazed strawberries. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJSQaST_p45zqLHryJNwBPAJC5p04fnt94ajcBES1iVW4fVGL5WoMyC23K45lVDvK-7c4j7oXgdLXMuVP_khMkG4BQsTgvPZ-y8YBXJvmi2kTYZh3H5A94qT6HfuGZfUxn6LtZsFEkn8/s1600/008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJSQaST_p45zqLHryJNwBPAJC5p04fnt94ajcBES1iVW4fVGL5WoMyC23K45lVDvK-7c4j7oXgdLXMuVP_khMkG4BQsTgvPZ-y8YBXJvmi2kTYZh3H5A94qT6HfuGZfUxn6LtZsFEkn8/s320/008.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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My brownie bites were the easiest to make. I just poured some chocolate soap into my mini cupcake silicone pan. I wanted the top to look a little flaky like a real brownie, so I put some crinkled plastic wrap on the top. I thought it worked rather well. Since it was so simple I wanted to add some chocolate mint leaves. I was going to just use tempered cocoa butter tinted green, but I'm running low on cocoa butter. I was just going to brush it on some real mint leaves and leave it one until it solidified. Yeah, another product of watching cooking shows. So I thought I would just go ahead and try with the cold process soap. It worked great,though you really should try to get the leaf off as soon as you can. It kinda wilted into soap and didn't want to come off so easy when I left it too long.</div>
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The gingerbread house was inspired by a cookie cutter I bought before my Alco closed. I made some brown soap with cocoa powder. I wasn't going to scent it at all since I had the bleed through problem, but I couldn't leave off. So I added some lemon cake fragrance since I didn't have a gingerbread type scent. At least my soap gingerbread would have a bakery type scent. Ack, this scent is AWESOME! I am totally rebatching some of my leftover soap in this scent. Love it. I had so much fun with the gingerbread. I had enough soap leftover to make little gingerbread people. One thing to note though: I put the gingerbread cookie cutter in the wet soap and let it solidify. I tried to cut another set in case I screwed up the first. Bad idea, the cutter is plastic and the soap crumbled horribly. The metal cookie cutters didn't have this problem.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7U0_fETGYuHmmVqBrz4ptCf41LpPnR2MvAHs75D4iLIcq-jkmOpKEOgwK9_ht4pWgfkPWcKtXGLDslfEORg1XKbEl0Iof4kFGQWABAfVV-HQ09M09I4gErenSfeNmHusf8KwyxqBPNI4/s1600/003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7U0_fETGYuHmmVqBrz4ptCf41LpPnR2MvAHs75D4iLIcq-jkmOpKEOgwK9_ht4pWgfkPWcKtXGLDslfEORg1XKbEl0Iof4kFGQWABAfVV-HQ09M09I4gErenSfeNmHusf8KwyxqBPNI4/s640/003.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of my mess and my horde of gingerbread people. I tried to pipe some roses with the leftover frosting soap.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTy1oz6iRAJ7OSDysKjX5hv5P7uRDJ6WRxFnSZ6_TCxKP_JOc0AlwTJdLBtNe3Cv17gxw2rfAuGJ3wzYKmGKyhCimO4Vb82memAAjCy_5u8EhsQ39W8KTsvyn4vVsiLqI4aa_UtVIYCh4/s1600/004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="630" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTy1oz6iRAJ7OSDysKjX5hv5P7uRDJ6WRxFnSZ6_TCxKP_JOc0AlwTJdLBtNe3Cv17gxw2rfAuGJ3wzYKmGKyhCimO4Vb82memAAjCy_5u8EhsQ39W8KTsvyn4vVsiLqI4aa_UtVIYCh4/s640/004.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orange Strawberry Parfait, Strawberry Swirl Cake, Brownie Bite, Gingerbread</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKBW6u6rWcBRq9k-hJXwpmU-vin6DIxm3NDKWdoJMLwMk3cQw6gWrL28J_NdRYMUwK8VXvmb2GFrlyPERvZZQ9oIswrx9FpVhtk2uAzQPbKANKM9gsqBAyW2FHz_H-alnPQ4xsq_4d7gc/s1600/012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKBW6u6rWcBRq9k-hJXwpmU-vin6DIxm3NDKWdoJMLwMk3cQw6gWrL28J_NdRYMUwK8VXvmb2GFrlyPERvZZQ9oIswrx9FpVhtk2uAzQPbKANKM9gsqBAyW2FHz_H-alnPQ4xsq_4d7gc/s640/012.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Close ups</td></tr>
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I know that I could have been more patient and should have used another soap base. I keep using my bastile one that well, takes forever to get stiff. I have to say I know I have a long way to be great at this type of soaping, but for my first time, I think I did a decent job.</div>
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Thanks to all the people who commented on my last Challenge post. I really enjoyed reading your comments. I hope you all enjoy my mini soap desserts. I had so much fun making them and I still have a few ideas of others to make. </div>
The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-2842956374171894452015-05-15T01:49:00.001-05:002015-05-15T01:49:37.770-05:00Laundry ButterSo I was commenting on a post of one of the Facebook groups I belong to about Laundry Butter when it got deleted by the owner. I dislike having a thread deleted when I didn't get to read all the comments. Ah well, such is life, I am often disappointed. But it got me thinking that I hadn't shared with you a whole lot these past years. Granted they were very hard years, but I wanted to get back to why I started a blog in the first place. I wanted to share my knowledge, experiences and experiments.<br />
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So back to Laundry Butter. I adore my liquid laundry soap. I worked a lot to get it to work for my family. Alas, when we moved to Bisbee in the late fall, it was too cold in my laundry room to keep my liquid soap, well liquid. I recycled on of those cheapo laundry detergent bottles with a spout for my laundry soap. (FYI I will never buy cheap laundry detergent again. I hated the scent and half my family couldn't use the stuff. It took me forever to use it up so I can put my own stuff in.) Let me just say it is so much work to get that stuff liquid again so I can get it out of the bottle and use the stuff. I decided that since it was going to be a butter anyhow, I might as well make it like that to begin with.<br />
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I do not like the typical recipe that calls for 5 gallons of water as when I have made it before I would have to a floating solid mass on the top with slimy liquid underneath the mass. I don't like the snot like texture and I don't like having to mix my laundry soap every time I need to use it. I know that Suzanne from Chickens in the Road did more <a href="http://chickensintheroad.com/house/crafts/homemade-laundry-soap-concentrate/" target="_blank">concentrated laundry soap</a>, so I knew I could make something similar.<br />
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Borax with soap shreds seem to coagulate rather well together. It seems too much water will cause a bit of a separation. It seems that even though you add a lot of water to bar soap, its structure wants to solidify despite the extra water. I know I use about 2 gallons of water for my liquid soap, so I didn't want to use anymore than that. Anyhow, nevermind my silly thought processes to get my formula here is the recipe I have been using since February.<br />
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<u>Laundry Soap Base for Shredding</u><br />
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You need basic soap making knowledge for this. This recipe should only been done by a person who knows how to make soap and who has advanced knowledge on the subject. You can substitute Zote or Fels Naptha if you so wish. This is just what I have done.<br />
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50% Coconut Oil<br />
50% Lard<br />
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-2% in the superfat (this is a lye excess, but if you are not comfortable with an excess, just use what superfat you'd like)<br />
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I shred this just as soon as it is solid enough as this base can get rather hard and I like to shred when it is still like cheddar cheese.<br />
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<u>Laundry Butter Formula</u><br />
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This is very concentrated. I don't use more than a tablespoon for a big load. Mostly I have based this for the very hard water of where I live. I like this formula as it works well for my family and I.<br />
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2 gallons of distilled water<br />
3 cups of borax<br />
3 cups of washing soda<br />
30 ounces of soap shreds<br />
4 oz of polysorbate 20 or 80<br />
1 oz of preferred essential oil (We love the citrus, so most of ours are lemon, orange or grapefruit)<br />
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<ol>
<li>In a stainless steel stock pot, boil the first 3 ingredients together.</li>
<li>When the water boils and the borax and washing soda are totally dissolved, turn off heat and add soap shreds.</li>
<li>Mix together polysorbate 20 or 80 with the essential oil. When the soap shreds are completely dissolved and the liquid is just very warm, you can add the polysorbate/essential oil mixture. Mix thoroughly.</li>
<li>Pour into your preferred vessel. I recommend a big tub with a lid. I found an old laundry detergent tub in my garage that I use. Let cool completely. It always take overnight for me.</li>
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I only use a tbsp of this butter per regular load and I use white vinegar as my fabric softener. I still believe in extra rinses. I know that this works well for me because well I tweaked the recipe until it worked for my new home. </div>
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If you use this, please know it may not be as good or you probably need to tweak the formula to work for you. After nearly nine years of making my own soap and laundry soap, I know enough what to tweak, but mostly it is trial and error.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqO2meHIpIs-XD3nVPrq2oOZ3_arFJmOoMnM_h0QVZMGFXZeJ0KbzZulteCNfSuMHzBFH3Xx095D-6oMnxvciheXDmsRbWQLW6MFGaNzjCb4gc7b1vizQARe0WplQLuuP7BeFM8XAwqic/s1600/Comparison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqO2meHIpIs-XD3nVPrq2oOZ3_arFJmOoMnM_h0QVZMGFXZeJ0KbzZulteCNfSuMHzBFH3Xx095D-6oMnxvciheXDmsRbWQLW6MFGaNzjCb4gc7b1vizQARe0WplQLuuP7BeFM8XAwqic/s640/Comparison.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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Note: The batch made in February was made using fresh soap shreds and the batch made in May was made using shreds I saved from February. I should have stored the shreds in a cardboard box instead of a plastic bin I did. I know that the soap would yellow, but I forgot that soap needs to breathe so this batch doesn't smell that great because of that.</div>
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The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-90531875495093570952015-05-05T23:43:00.002-05:002015-05-05T23:43:31.947-05:00Soapbox: Update on Boy Genius Five Years LaterIt seems a bit surreal that it has been five years since the whole <a href="http://theladybugssoapbox.blogspot.com/2010/05/one-of-those-days.html" target="_blank">oven cleaner accident</a>. I remember vividly my anxious wait to hear what the doctors had to say. I remember tossing my poor boy in the shower. And I remember how relieved we all were when he started to heal. He didn't like the grey side effect of the silver cream. He would rub his face when he should have left it alone so we just gave him some salve and he stopped rubbing the scabs off his face.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl5jyfLETaipkv8ImmCPeB1CsJzlf0zyAf5IQsCpDCkPlrudbdir3XBWwrq4gDn0II6otMFZuDlPQozDP4diOPo9swqGOnX-uo3z7orFllR9338lyQejUb_F8AKRqZy69um_c0kQpe-1M/s1600/Kael+2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl5jyfLETaipkv8ImmCPeB1CsJzlf0zyAf5IQsCpDCkPlrudbdir3XBWwrq4gDn0II6otMFZuDlPQozDP4diOPo9swqGOnX-uo3z7orFllR9338lyQejUb_F8AKRqZy69um_c0kQpe-1M/s1600/Kael+2010.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The day after the accident. May 5, 2010</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2w6mTUvRwKJPCI28BDCEjcG55JO_N1YphDS3RT4hrXMslXiGHqRHXKr8xH0rhende8hJmnMVAo12vKcO06AFevjYVpDxCGXSPtymuKKgb6qapryVp8RVFX-ZwdJR9_6zsbdD9VpUNdlM/s1600/Kael-2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2w6mTUvRwKJPCI28BDCEjcG55JO_N1YphDS3RT4hrXMslXiGHqRHXKr8xH0rhende8hJmnMVAo12vKcO06AFevjYVpDxCGXSPtymuKKgb6qapryVp8RVFX-ZwdJR9_6zsbdD9VpUNdlM/s1600/Kael-2015.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May 5, 2015</td></tr>
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As you can see, he has minimal scars. They are there, but I'm sure that unless you really look, you can't find them. Isn't he growing up to be so handsome?<br />
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The Lord was so generous to us. The caustic cleaner didn't get in his eyes, inner ears or his lungs. It could have been so much worse. I am so glad that because of my soap making knowledge that I instantly I needed to get the lye in the cleaner solution diluted. I really wasn't into chemistry, but I had found that my love of making soap also piqued my interest into chemistry. I'm sure that the Lord had a hand in that as well. I am so thankful that Boy Genius has such a resilient spirit. He bounced back from this accident and became a little more careful in some aspects. He tends to read labels now. Yes, the Lord has been good to our family.The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-57292130113246635992015-03-21T01:06:00.000-05:002015-03-21T01:48:45.314-05:00"Driving to Yuma" Landscape Soap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPIREUD-eULks7xrU8F5ZIxE6Rrn_wi1oXQfwoE-wvtsyX6cfdoftiCKnLlGMbZueF29y29tsw-zPTHPuZP1cSvkIOp9T1gVN0vV05onXL_g2xxd55vGm6966WlOcdLiiBh9Tdu2W9Pac/s1600/download.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPIREUD-eULks7xrU8F5ZIxE6Rrn_wi1oXQfwoE-wvtsyX6cfdoftiCKnLlGMbZueF29y29tsw-zPTHPuZP1cSvkIOp9T1gVN0vV05onXL_g2xxd55vGm6966WlOcdLiiBh9Tdu2W9Pac/s1600/download.png" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
I have been wanting to join the Great Cakes Soapworks Soap Challenge Club for some time. When I saw that March's Challenge was to do a landscape soap, I knew I just had to join for this challenge. I had a landscape soap that been percolating in my brain since August 2014.<br />
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Way back in August my husband, daughter and I were driving back to Yuma, AZ from an interview in Bisbee, AZ. I was greatly enjoying the road trip with just the few of us. The church in Bisbee was a lovely bit of encouragement for us and Cowboy Preacher and I were talking about the possibilities. My husband and I have this habit of just getting into deep discussion while driving so I had put my camera away in the back. Big mistake because around Casa Grande we saw the most beautiful thunderstorm. Of course I didn't have my boys to get my camera from the back. We were heading to Gila Bend for dinner. The thunderstorm was most spectacular and it was really quite huge. Well on the way to Gila Bend for supper, the sun was setting in the most beautiful colors and I thought that would make a really truly beautiful soap.<br />
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I really could kick myself for not having my camera available to me, so I tried to memorize the colors and such. I really remember thinking how that my camera wouldn't be able to pick up the little slash of green from the fields. There was also this little haze of grey white and I realized that it was the irrigation systems going on the fields. The colors of the sunset were awesome and beautiful. Cowboy Preacher kinda laughed when I mentioned that it would make a beautiful soap. He knows that I have soap on the brain most of the time.<br />
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During another interview the next week I make sure to have my camera, but I couldn't get a shot that was close to the one from before.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1s_vJ_2CGNzvJ51NCBykaWm4XDlTz3Rz9g_tYmDjgtNypQ9MDfTRM_z9KqvEXhlbbBdnrhcdIZQhnvMR4t_cZTrU4L2zF01MPDDDT8vKyRhgayhDjJqbDrxfMpfG67HCKS1kBVckBy1M/s1600/Colorado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1s_vJ_2CGNzvJ51NCBykaWm4XDlTz3Rz9g_tYmDjgtNypQ9MDfTRM_z9KqvEXhlbbBdnrhcdIZQhnvMR4t_cZTrU4L2zF01MPDDDT8vKyRhgayhDjJqbDrxfMpfG67HCKS1kBVckBy1M/s1600/Colorado.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">August 2014 sunset coming home from Pueblo, CO.</td></tr>
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When we were called to Bisbee we took another trip to gather information and meet with the church again. Again, I tried to take a similar picture as the sunset from August, but I couldn't quite get it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3_eoViuwVhu2ChkwhYCgVPIk_efHCDDPZ7PQG_UG05dkRtGCyGV5g-Gragu68BZnSKf677iIG3O6Enztk-IuWzIWwYbcVqpjeHJmYYSIJFahXCqF1ml8AaZunqE9srV7xwhKkxIZsuCM/s1600/October.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3_eoViuwVhu2ChkwhYCgVPIk_efHCDDPZ7PQG_UG05dkRtGCyGV5g-Gragu68BZnSKf677iIG3O6Enztk-IuWzIWwYbcVqpjeHJmYYSIJFahXCqF1ml8AaZunqE9srV7xwhKkxIZsuCM/s1600/October.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">October 2014 sunset going back to Yuma from Bisbee, AZ.</td></tr>
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The colors were similar though, so I used the two pictures above to paint the sunset I wanted in watercolor.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQDKTKSAB9swx3-GD8aTHOdohShTXaQHdIBnL4UW2GbX_x8bgUQfa6e1wAhv1GiVb7dRA06Zg30yveOFIRa8Kj7yv6QtUGwc6U9W2jsXvMmCC8kIUFpnY_eWqAKs1MuQUjdeeY0j-_AEw/s1600/Inspiration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQDKTKSAB9swx3-GD8aTHOdohShTXaQHdIBnL4UW2GbX_x8bgUQfa6e1wAhv1GiVb7dRA06Zg30yveOFIRa8Kj7yv6QtUGwc6U9W2jsXvMmCC8kIUFpnY_eWqAKs1MuQUjdeeY0j-_AEw/s1600/Inspiration.jpg" height="256" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Inspiration for the Landscape Soap</td></tr>
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This is the picture inspiration for the soap. I was so excited to get started and I really hoped that I could recreate this beautiful sunset in a soap. I posted on my Facebook and my friends were very excited for me as well.<br />
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I wanted to show the green fields around Casa Grande as most people think of Arizona as a desert so it must be shades of brown. Also I thought putting in the misty haze of the irrigation to show that in the desert we water our plants after the sun goes down so as not to burn or have excessive evaporation. The mountains really turn a lovely black as the sun sets, and well, I wanted to show the colors of gold, blue and dark purple black. </div>
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I started with the green. I mixed up green oxide, hydrated chrome green and a touch of black. The soap batter was very thin and I have to say at this point of the soap I did want it to set fast. *Sigh* of course it didn't. I at first sprinkled the grey white soap on the top of the green forgetting that, no silly, you wanted a haze and not clouds. I really am too impatient sometimes with soap layers. Waiting for the green to get thick enough to pour the white was, well, not fun at all. </div>
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Since my old stick blender died, a good friend gave me hers. It was just too heavy and awkward for her so she gave it to me. Well, the new one kicked up a ton of tiny bubbles. So I just tried to stir and bang them away. Usually, the bubbles don't bother me a whole lot, but I had a specific design in mind. This also meant that I tried not to use it to help the soap to thicken up like I would have with my old stick blender. After seeing the end result, I'll probably won't hesitate to use it again.</div>
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I did want the black to be thick enough to sculpt a bit. This was the mountain layer. Again my patience got away from me. Wow, I cannot describe how difficult it was for me just to wait for the silly black layer to thicken. So eventually I talked myself into leaving it alone and go play some Pogo for a bit. After it was thick enough to sculpt, I carved up some mountains.</div>
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Then I waited until the yellow "Sun" soap batter thickened enough to pipe a pretty little setting sun. Uh,yeah, I think I need to work on piping a bit more for next time. So again, some more Pogo. I can get caught up playing "Dice City Rollers" for hours. Though it was getting late and I was getting bleary. I really try not to soap when I'm tired. So instead of finishing the soap, I went to bed after piping the sun. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7dSNSDf5fB3gJBIL5kWN-u75_VMyy7fBSFnpmcoBiRivVvLx83vxOTNYlCaHovHseeYxG-ERbJA5uWfBCo0I93hXC9vs5gGxmJ5QkiihPTpT2E18h8EQFFrBQnzHf_35l9uS9XxGKmg/s1600/IMG_20150308_133237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7dSNSDf5fB3gJBIL5kWN-u75_VMyy7fBSFnpmcoBiRivVvLx83vxOTNYlCaHovHseeYxG-ERbJA5uWfBCo0I93hXC9vs5gGxmJ5QkiihPTpT2E18h8EQFFrBQnzHf_35l9uS9XxGKmg/s1600/IMG_20150308_133237.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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The next day, I discovered that the soap was still very soft. I didn't add sodium lactate to these layers. I did a little more sculpting because sometimes I just can't leave well enough alone. Then I added a silver mica line to help with the sunset glow. I kinda buffed it in and sprayed it with isopropyl alcohol. Next time, I'll try to spray it with some watered down glycerin as some of the cut soaps want to separate at this particular spot.</div>
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The sunset layers I wanted to bleed into each other so I used Brambleberry (BB) Lab Colors. Note: next time make a more concentrated solution of colors. I wanted red orange, orange, yellow, sky blue, blue, dark blue and purplish black ombre. I ended up using some Key West Blue mica (Mad Oils) and Ultramarine blue (BB) to get the blues I wanted. I decided to put a pretty gold oil mica swirl on the top.</div>
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Since we were driving home to Yuma when we observed the glorious sunset, I decided to scent this with Brambleberry's Energy fragrance oil and Mad Oil's Pink Grapefruit fragrance oil. Yuma has a lot of grapefruit groves and their cucumbers are to die for. Really, both scents just remind me a lot of Yuma. It really is lovely to drive past a grove of citrus in the dead of night. The cool air from the irrigation and the scent of the blossoms is just amazing.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gold Oil Mica Swirl topping</td></tr>
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I guess I am very good at creating anticipation because I did get a lot of comments on my personal Facebook page about the coming reveal. When I finally unmolded the soap, I loved the colors on the outside.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So Pretty</td></tr>
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So in the end, I have to say that I had a lot of fun and I learned quite a bit. As often as I thought about the construction of this particular soap, I now have some more insight of what to do and what not to do. I did use a slight water discount, but it wasn't enough for the weather in my area. Also, this soap has proved to me that I really love color and I NEED to buy more colorants to supplement my dwindling supply. *Smirk* I really NEED more colorants. Also, I really should be more patient when doing layers to get the crisp lines that I was looking for. I am planning on doing more soaps like this one because well, the landscape around Bisbee is just gorgeous.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh7ALYIpfWM9JrneStKRozGrwIN0x8RmIkv92Y5-f9BiDyBggXICBRehjCN2_VLpyBx8fr6enW-gNFFmG3nNWydjLp_aXStWFjkrbu82ZwZAVycjhGap-_7GNvHX9WHMB4UWHOD6pujqs/s1600/Frame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh7ALYIpfWM9JrneStKRozGrwIN0x8RmIkv92Y5-f9BiDyBggXICBRehjCN2_VLpyBx8fr6enW-gNFFmG3nNWydjLp_aXStWFjkrbu82ZwZAVycjhGap-_7GNvHX9WHMB4UWHOD6pujqs/s1600/Frame.jpg" height="640" width="462" /></a></div>
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I really love how this soap turned out. I want to say thank you to my cheering section. You guys really are very encouraging. And thanks for the help deciding which of the soaps you wanted to be entered. A big thank you to my brother Kwon who loaned me his flash and tries to help his big sister get better at photography. If you wanted to check out the different cuts of the soap, here is the link==> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.561931503910479.1073741853.338971896206442&type=1" target="_blank">The Ladybug's Soapbox</a>.<br />
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The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-60723037827434550032014-11-11T17:03:00.001-06:002014-11-11T17:04:17.172-06:00Busy, Busy BeesWe have been at the new home for a little over a week now. The house is a lovely home with lots of natural light which I love. I feel like a butterfly coming out of her cocoon. Honestly, I think I am solar powered.<br />
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This Saturday is my church's Christmas Bazaar. My very first bazaar at my own church. I am ecstatic. So along with packing, moving and unpacking, I am making a few little products for my own little table. I hope I remember to take a picture.<br />
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My head is a little loopy because I am unpacking and finding happy homes for our things. Then finding better homes for them. And I've been making products and having to label everything. Finding the supplies, finding my labels, finding the kid's stuff, finding my stuff, and finding whichever kitchen item that is needed at the time takes up a lot of time. Altogether there is a whole lot of finding going on.<br />
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Now I think I better get back to finding things and possible get Cowboy Preacher to make a recycle run for me. Gosh, those empty boxes do pile up and make a mess.The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-38212529938829152682014-10-28T16:18:00.001-05:002014-10-28T16:18:36.102-05:00Bisbee BoundIt is getting busy again around here. Packing to move again. I don't plan to move again for a good long while. Our new church holds a Christmas Bazaar that I hope to take part in, so I've been making a lot of products for that on top of my usually packing. It have been a bit of a juggle.<br />
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So now we are down to the wire and my children are coming down with colds. It is difficult when you want to pamper and cuddle them but you have to get packing. I have some Prayer Warriors praying for them. I hope we can get this all over with soon and start the unpacking.<br />
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I'm holding my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/820310211334003/" target="_blank">Fourth Annual Secret Gift Exchange</a> on my Facebook page. A lot of people still wanted to join, so I went ahead and hosted this again even though I have to be packing for our move. I enjoy doing this every year. At least we are moving earlier this year and only across the state. So hopefully, no ice storms. My Gift Exchange is open to everyone in the United States of America at this time. We have a great time crafting and seeing what other people have given.<br />
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Well, I guess I better get back to packing.The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-66049213353109809572014-10-08T19:08:00.003-05:002014-10-08T19:08:39.628-05:00Pretty Micas and Glitter from Mad Oils<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCi95i717VYXyE9rZ7oEYW9NDHdEYLL_4r3ZIUNhJEv0VF5ZtOrrLnFFAog_WpgbrBPAsnsEraEk_2u9gqQo9GYRwuv6U6lpwL3eVtPHMoLssGYaAfHrTOQ3BeDyYhTL_6Os_JHIwsJtU/s1600/Micas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCi95i717VYXyE9rZ7oEYW9NDHdEYLL_4r3ZIUNhJEv0VF5ZtOrrLnFFAog_WpgbrBPAsnsEraEk_2u9gqQo9GYRwuv6U6lpwL3eVtPHMoLssGYaAfHrTOQ3BeDyYhTL_6Os_JHIwsJtU/s1600/Micas.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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I decided to try a new supplier with a little money given to me for soap supplies. I was just going to get a few of the 1 oz micas, but it seems that most of what I wanted to get were out of stock. Thankfully, the samples weren't so I decided to try a wide range of colors.<br />
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These colors make me very happy.<br />
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Most of them will either make their way into soap or nail polish. I'd like to get my nail polish collection a bit more variety. For now, I think I'll sit back and enjoy the rainbow.The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-79120213251177592022014-10-02T02:48:00.002-05:002014-10-02T02:48:39.854-05:00Moving Again...How Wonderful to have Income Again!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlElkMc08R9aIxGYkUtTCaQ59aIyxdZ5ZukO0LnhrAfx_nxDFwAe91g4HySUe3mXeKUMwRuhZRNcvw9HEFq6010JSw03JKLThromh4ScJdAuHJtAt8Uu6t9-eUTb8ObqrYIwgLxt17Lxw/s1600/20140816_0584.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlElkMc08R9aIxGYkUtTCaQ59aIyxdZ5ZukO0LnhrAfx_nxDFwAe91g4HySUe3mXeKUMwRuhZRNcvw9HEFq6010JSw03JKLThromh4ScJdAuHJtAt8Uu6t9-eUTb8ObqrYIwgLxt17Lxw/s1600/20140816_0584.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-26640969969330550112014-09-22T02:25:00.001-05:002014-09-22T02:29:06.801-05:00Soapbox: Getting Back into the Groove<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwA0DRSreQlVJGJ-6xYgIWwttfSPcfgFxcCFVYEYk0ekyBHmReOxfTIXnY0_5QCpT2bVOHWf0G6TcSljUu3hEqzSlNEewNu0aWhtNGHBMirgmfr3YSNa8EZ1JdRUex6CVecSJrW-NKtq8/s1600/20140816_0495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwA0DRSreQlVJGJ-6xYgIWwttfSPcfgFxcCFVYEYk0ekyBHmReOxfTIXnY0_5QCpT2bVOHWf0G6TcSljUu3hEqzSlNEewNu0aWhtNGHBMirgmfr3YSNa8EZ1JdRUex6CVecSJrW-NKtq8/s1600/20140816_0495.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Find the beauty in the smallest of things</td></tr>
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I've been neglecting my blog. I didn't intend to but that is what has happened. Honestly, this year has been very tough and stressful on me. I'm not sure if I had previously said this, but my husband had lost his job last year in June. We have been without an income for over a year. Well, let me tell you, just getting basic needs met has been a HUGE stress. Really, one that Cowboy Preacher lugged on. I imagine there are others out there who understand how it is. The looks people give you as if you aren't also looking for a job, any job to help out. For myself, I listened to my husband and let him deal with the financials for the most part. I dealt with getting nourishing meals to everyone and figured out what I could make with the things I had on hand for the day to day living. It has been a blessing that I know how to make soap as I have used that skill to keep the house in soap and cleaning supplies. Still, it is terrible humiliating to buy the small things we have to buy with coins. I had a manager looking over my shoulder one time and another time, the cashier told me I couldn't use that many coins again because it make their drawers heavy. It is difficult to skimp and save just so you can have toilet paper. At times, it really was painful to see all that abundance in the store and know that I really couldn't afford to buy a simple shirt/dress/pants/socks/underwear for my kids. Other times, we would walk through the store and put things on our wishlist. Those were a bit nicer to think about but still with an undercurrent of stress. In the end, it has always been the Lord's blessings on us that got us through. <br />
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I have to admit, I didn't have such a problem at first with this whole lack of income thing. Really, it has inspired my creativity and reinforces my faith. It has been an amazing time to see how my Creator's hand has been guiding even the smallest things in my life. The tiny miracles have gotten me through so many difficult times. The set of events that really got to me was that I couldn't write and make my videos due to equipment malfunctions. I share my laptop with my boys; part of it was school and part of it was leisure. Well, my laptop is getting up there and it is a very bad design as the video card is right next to the dinky little fan and constantly overwhelms it. I have a little setup where my laptop is on a wire rack 9 inches off my desk with a small desk fan blowing on it to keep the laptop from overheating and shutting down. I can't be comfortable typing 9" in the air. I can't edit my videos because my video card overheats and kills my computer. My external hard drive is still being fixed and I have neglected to save onto DVD-r because I have at least 44 GB of pictures on my laptop and I have no income and so I cannot buy more dvd-r. I have a limited supply and I keep those around so I can rip a dvd sermon for Cowboy Preacher whenever he needs to send out one for his resume. So you understand, I don't like to possibly kill my laptop for good over my writing and making/editing/uploading videos. But I really miss it. And I don't think I realized how much I really needed to continue to at least write.<br />
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Well that is so depressing. That is what you want to read isn't it, how my life is so stressed and how my expensive equipment is failing, right? What can I say, this is what I'm dealing with right now. But I can tell you that just writing this post has been a wonderful stress reliever. Even in this time of little, my family has been blessed so many times. I give all glory and honor to my Lord, Jesus. I have decided that I am going to show a little more of the real me. I always wanted to write, but usually I try to write happy little encouraging things. Well sometimes, life hits and hits hard. My little controlled facade was breaking apart and was helping me to fall apart. Generally, I try to show be "real", but within the nice happy way. Sure, I'd post some of the bad, but most of it was hidden away. This year has been hard and I had my head in the sand online.<br />
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So what has changed? Well, my husband finally got his other laptop fixed so his old computer was available for the heavy video card stuff. <b>Blessings from Above</b>. We have had a few interviews (Pastor/Ministers are one of the few positions that that whole family is scrutinized.) <b>Blessings from Above</b>. (As to secular jobs, do you know how horrible it is to get the "overqualified" reason as to why they don't want to hire you? Seriously, clerking at the gas station is a glorious job when you have to pay bills and put food on the table. Qualified or not, no job is still no job and no money and generally, no food, electricity, water, gas or any other necessity.) Last week we were seriously behind in all utilities, and then an unexpected gift was given. <b>Blessing from Above</b>. One of the interviews told us they went with the other guy and we hadn't heard from the other. Then Cowboy Preacher received an invitation to interview with another church. <b>Blessing from Above</b>. Now, I have to say that pretty much describes this whole last year of living without an income. So what has really changed? My heart. Instead of lamenting and lamenting and begging and pleading, I started having a great conversation with Jesus. I gave thanks to my blessings, but even better was laying down my burdens on Him and NOT picking them back up. My faith is in God, He will take care of me. Maybe not necessarily to my wants, but in what is necessary. <b>Blessings from Above</b>.<br />
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Guess what, that means my blog is changing again. But that is to be expected, after all creative types are notoriously flighty. He he he, yes, I willing admit to being a flighty person, perhaps not all the time, but still flighty. Okay, I didn't want to say blonde, but yeah, that is what I meant. My daddy always said that if I didn't have Korean blood in me, I'd have been born blonde. Yes, as in the blonde jokes. Being blonde is AWESOME! So what is Cowboy Preacher's puns fly over my head like a 747, can he make a soap that looks and smells like a brownie? (Actually, he has forbidden me from making soap that looks and/or smells like food. Do you know what I say to that? Piffle! I may not see the use for making a cupcake soap, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to make one. **Hint: cupcake soaps trials in the future**)<br />
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Back to the blog, yes, I can and love meandering, there will be more personal stuff, crafty stuff, sewing stuff, practical stuff and whatever "floats my boat" stuff. I know that in the standard that usually a blog is about one or two topics, but you know what, this is MY blog. I don't have the time or the energy or the will really to keep more that this blog and my videos. I homeschool my kids, I make soap, I sew, I craft and I read lots of stuff. So basically this blogs is going to reflect me. I'm not out writing for the money, although that would be nice. I'm writing to express me. True, the blog will probably be heavy on the crafty side, but that is me as well. The passive aggresive me with the strange introvert who likes to give parties but is content to sit back and enjoy the chaos. I like to meet people, but I don't like to talk a lot. Well, unless it is a subject I do talk a lot about. Which is soap, soap making and soap design. Hopefully also more about my true and abiding love of Christ. <br />
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I have my computer back solely to myself and I finally found my dayplanner/homebook after several moves. I'm getting back into the groove and I have a lot to say. Now, I just have to get a little organized. Can a flighty person be organized?<br />
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Blessing to you from one who was stressed out but is not anymore. I have a set of strong shoulders holding up my burdens whenever I remember to lay them down.<br />
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Godspeed to you and yours.The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-36266878475418616242014-04-13T17:11:00.001-05:002014-04-13T17:14:28.183-05:00Michael's Craft Haul<div style="text-align: center;">
Here is a quick video of my recent haul of craft supplies. Enjoy!</div>
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The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-66935720249942386672014-04-03T18:17:00.000-05:002014-04-13T17:16:21.657-05:00Unexpected Death of Beloved PetsThis week is Spring Break for these parts. I have to say, it has been a horrible Spring Break for our household. I had intended to continue to do half schooling during this Spring Break because we a slightly behind, but that plan went out the window pretty early on when I discovered my cats had been poisoned.<br />
<br />
Our two kitties are indoor/outdoor kitties. Were indoor/outdoor kitties. We got Miss Em from the humane society in Stuttgart. Trixie was a feral cat that adopted my second son. They loved to explore and adventure. I know that the lifespan of indoor/outdoor cats are much shorter than strictly indoor cats. Trixie was always at home outside though and Miss Em soon followed her sister.<br />
<br />
Monday morning, Miss Em vomited in our bathroom. I thought she was just eating the grass and it upset her tummy. We went on our errands, one of which was to stop by a pet store to pick up some oat grass. After we finally made it back home and settled a bit, I heard Miss Em yowl slowly, painfully and lowly. Little Duder was being nice and calmly petting her, but I knew he likes to cradle her, so I intervened and picked her up. Immediately, I knew something was not right. She didn't "feel" right. Her eyes were glazed and her inner eyelids were covering the inner portion of her eyes. When she seized we took her to the vet even though we don't have any income and we knew it could be expensive. In the end, we chose to end her suffering. It was so heartbreaking. I hoped Trixie wouldn't have gotten into the same poison.<br />
<br />
Tuesday morning, Trixie was lethargic and vomiting as well. She had the exact same symptoms as Miss Em. Double, triple and quadruple heartbreak. Roosiers was at a church sponsored outreach program and Trixie was his cat. All the children loved the cats. Despite unintentional roughness, the cats were very patient with the kids when cornered. We had to pick u Roosiers and we all as a family made that fateful appointment. Listening to Trixie yowl was awful. We couldn't let her die slowly and painfully.<br />
<br />
We suspected antifreeze poisoning and the vet agreed. We have no confirmation because we couldn't afford the bloodwork. The signs were there. I walked the neighborhood and I sure enough found a neighbor who stored their antifreeze open in their yard. It is also possible that some other neighbor might have had a spill in their driveway. It doesn't take much antifreeze to poison a cat. We informed our neighbors of our circumstances in hopes of saving their pets as well. But I have to say, our neighborhood is very much lacking the kitty presence that it had just a week ago.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, Spring Break was a bust. I particularly love cats and to lose them that way was so difficult. I'm in mourning. I made a little video tribute to my cats. Here is the link to the video on YouTube==> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftg0cpyL5Qs" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rest in Peace Beatrix and Miss Mistoffelees</a>.<br />
<br />
Carol The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-44773796989302214712014-02-15T23:52:00.000-06:002014-02-15T23:53:16.761-06:00Messy is as Messy doesIt seems that my daughter is well on her way to taking after her mother. I guess having four older brothers does help a little in that department. Growing up I was pretty much a tomboy. I like to think of myself back then as Rainbow Dash with just a tiny bit of Rarity (My children have been watching an awful lot of My Little Pony, The Magic of Friendship.) So last week when the boys took their sister outside to give Mom a few minutes on her own and I came out to check on them to find this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgefc0XYE5sRdzPhfnBfuclnKxCmiBlqb7M6Xptu2wGUueWaHUabW-a9-e_owqLXmR_C5JisvvWDyrCP99icxJPHjndHe7DdhTyWKCVCu38GcfIoS5EascWZcuqK0ck9SZHW8a-gV-VnE8/s1600/001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgefc0XYE5sRdzPhfnBfuclnKxCmiBlqb7M6Xptu2wGUueWaHUabW-a9-e_owqLXmR_C5JisvvWDyrCP99icxJPHjndHe7DdhTyWKCVCu38GcfIoS5EascWZcuqK0ck9SZHW8a-gV-VnE8/s1600/001.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJBxAvT_gjKnuxhZc4Jegd_VXtvFdvJYvC-UaSA_m3DYEbGC0WO9aPz4-ucXFnGcc2QRnyuzFtXXMVPd77Bq8a2_1NI4CbcBlpomVJDBSviQvLhqzZ_WfBy6qROXKMDum_AwsH4hW1qA/s1600/004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJBxAvT_gjKnuxhZc4Jegd_VXtvFdvJYvC-UaSA_m3DYEbGC0WO9aPz4-ucXFnGcc2QRnyuzFtXXMVPd77Bq8a2_1NI4CbcBlpomVJDBSviQvLhqzZ_WfBy6qROXKMDum_AwsH4hW1qA/s1600/004.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
I wasn't too surprised. I thought it was rather cute. Princessa Flower loves baths so she didn't mind too much. Although rinsing the dirt and sand from her head gave me oodles of admiration for mothers of curly and kinky haired children. Her bathtub did resemble a beach when it was all said and done, but she walked out of it squeaky clean and ready for the next adventure.<br />
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Today I was a bit more irritated when I saw this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlX2q3ovosi4rSq00y_hx2ge9-NGIhaxCl-lbeOWRBodHn9_KLr2A1aD5c6ThM1Vn3vMiAyOqJvpgB9w7pIas5ubYrARzUUiEIeaXWNB2WtjwF121nJa9S2bl6L4rKM5htNevG6WWep6w/s1600/005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlX2q3ovosi4rSq00y_hx2ge9-NGIhaxCl-lbeOWRBodHn9_KLr2A1aD5c6ThM1Vn3vMiAyOqJvpgB9w7pIas5ubYrARzUUiEIeaXWNB2WtjwF121nJa9S2bl6L4rKM5htNevG6WWep6w/s1600/005.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
What does she have on her face and hair you ask? Why, Little Duder reached up on the top shelf and gave his sister my first trial of cloth diaper friendly diaper rash ointment. Yes, Princessa slathered on diaper rash ointment all over herself. I'm a bit miffed at the waste of ointment though I am glad that it wasn't the store bought stuff. This ointment is basically my lip balm base with titanium dioxide and a bit of Polawax to help rinse it away easier.<br />
<br />
I did wipe most of the ointment off her skin, though the stuff in her hair just didn't want to budge. I have to say once the ointment was exposed to the bath it started to rinse away very well. I need to test it more on the cloth diapers, but I'd say I have a winner as to the ointment. Now if I can only keep the Princessa from making so many messes...<br />
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Yeah I didn't think so either. I highly suspect that there will be many baths and clean ups in the future and won't it be wonderful!<br />
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I posted pictures on my Facebook and a comment from one of my friends inspired this set of posters:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFz59KG6CuikMJh_cGhUdtNLBekJGK4KXU7-3LF0JFx9aVPpnavw1-xJxB5lBMRjXrnpESiSJxXOqYvh57hyphenhyphenF0PuxUDaiHhF74Tpca4LTA88lvz0h-UU30-IBhDAvQDv2YUyctKVorDY/s1600/Dirty-Pose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBFz59KG6CuikMJh_cGhUdtNLBekJGK4KXU7-3LF0JFx9aVPpnavw1-xJxB5lBMRjXrnpESiSJxXOqYvh57hyphenhyphenF0PuxUDaiHhF74Tpca4LTA88lvz0h-UU30-IBhDAvQDv2YUyctKVorDY/s1600/Dirty-Pose.jpg" height="320" width="247" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZd1b11UJNlKsM3UpdW5SyBOGmGgGsvyUX-g5dslh4OlUY63RKxMkh0RwsBjUDG3M1JIc0hQE9aGWs1SMYhpD-l7F4VjI944l64LS85UwkPY2rd1hnQc_sZcHBvhrbDc6d2mF5zO9wVo/s1600/TD-pose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZd1b11UJNlKsM3UpdW5SyBOGmGgGsvyUX-g5dslh4OlUY63RKxMkh0RwsBjUDG3M1JIc0hQE9aGWs1SMYhpD-l7F4VjI944l64LS85UwkPY2rd1hnQc_sZcHBvhrbDc6d2mF5zO9wVo/s1600/TD-pose.jpg" height="320" width="247" /></a></div>
Enjoy!<br />
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<br />The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-2783382579442476062014-01-19T15:21:00.001-06:002014-01-19T15:21:45.394-06:00Valentine's Soap 2014It has been too long since I have posted pictures of my soap. Enjoy!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2dXxo4Dj-MN8csUuQXSFxDUGf9QQX2sWJDwR-YgESzcRjrZsiybNmnUh-iU2U-Ic436rFwcomSzfDuNz90pBNV-AUvFl-DPjtFfm4Y0jI8uIMQTcORpOzWmFZyJ5-Vy7Lq0k_L2gdCE/s1600/dragonfire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2dXxo4Dj-MN8csUuQXSFxDUGf9QQX2sWJDwR-YgESzcRjrZsiybNmnUh-iU2U-Ic436rFwcomSzfDuNz90pBNV-AUvFl-DPjtFfm4Y0jI8uIMQTcORpOzWmFZyJ5-Vy7Lq0k_L2gdCE/s1600/dragonfire.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dragonfire</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrnHGxtImrzz-2BXYRnqKCvfq77x4YKU2z7B9MfI3imxHrljQzYgyIhLAsQG-e4oKoYFlzZfo05pW1AaSoFDrEVqRHU1wbEDr9snXOjZFe7h8T0l_lGoT638tKW1w85d3JXsv7YkIq0Q4/s1600/Strawberry-citrus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrnHGxtImrzz-2BXYRnqKCvfq77x4YKU2z7B9MfI3imxHrljQzYgyIhLAsQG-e4oKoYFlzZfo05pW1AaSoFDrEVqRHU1wbEDr9snXOjZFe7h8T0l_lGoT638tKW1w85d3JXsv7YkIq0Q4/s1600/Strawberry-citrus.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strawberry Citrus</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDys5qgfso5SmCkYsJ3KBO-5etMmW4q195ZvhrRwkYvEEG7sFZd3X7Yn1gqbQVORONB912ZCy4oITobdDNGFz_CsHyxuiyorruMw0cJ_Re6s3XaDrge5ESxahTzrX2SLE_EiPlJVDADkE/s1600/Wild-Rose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDys5qgfso5SmCkYsJ3KBO-5etMmW4q195ZvhrRwkYvEEG7sFZd3X7Yn1gqbQVORONB912ZCy4oITobdDNGFz_CsHyxuiyorruMw0cJ_Re6s3XaDrge5ESxahTzrX2SLE_EiPlJVDADkE/s1600/Wild-Rose.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wild Rose Bouquet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5614394725170047480.post-31848443408543005222014-01-15T15:05:00.001-06:002014-01-15T15:05:30.465-06:00New Undated Meal Planner and 2014 Meal Planner<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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It is another year and I have a couple of Meal Planners for
you today. I reformatted my Undated Meal Planner. It is still very plain, but
at least it isn't just for moms. I added some lines as well because I find that
it is convenient. I still like the booklet style of planner. I can tuck it into
my homebook/planner or have it sitting next to my desk. I have to say it
usually hangs around the kitchen though my boys do like to take it and browse
through it. I'm not sure what fascinates them about the silly planner, but I
have caught Boy Genius just thumbing through it occasionally.</div>
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I thought I would go digital with my meal planning, but in
the end, I liked writing in my meals. Pepperplate was a little troublesome for
a time. I didn't like that I couldn't see the meals in the past. I'm sure they
might have fixed that, but I haven't checked. I do still use Pepperplate for my
shopping list. I love that I can order the categories the way I shop in the
store. It saves me time. I used to spend a LOT of time walking back and forth
because I my list was so disorganized and I had to go back for an item. It is
very irritating when you are tired in the first place and the children are
getting restless and about to burst. Yes, I love that feature.</div>
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<br /></div>
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If you would like the Undated Meal Planner, click
====><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/sauleqtwouzf56t/Meal%20Planner%20Undated.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
Here is the 2014 Meal Planner ====><a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/55019446/Meal%20Planner2014.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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<u><span style="font-size: large;"><b>How to put together the Booklet:</b></span></u></div>
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Supplies Needed:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Printout, a long reach stapler, bone folder (optional)</div>
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Step One: Print out the planner. It is 8 pages, front and
back. It will look like it is messed up, but once you have printed it out and
folded it, it will come together. I manually do the double sided printing on my
printer since I don't like how my printer messes up every time using the
automatic feature. It helps if you know your printer and how to do double sided
printing.</div>
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Step Two: Fold all the pages in half. I do this with them
all together, but you can do this one at a time. A bone folder is helpful to
use to get the crisp fold. If you don't have a bone folder, just use a marker
or pen.</div>
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Step Three: Staple on the fold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like making booklets, so I invested in a
long reach stapler. You can probably get this done at a Print shop or bind it
using bookmaking techniques.</div>
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Step Four: Use your new Planner. Fill in the dates if you
are using the Undated Meal Planner. I like to highlight special dates such as
birthdays, anniversary's, and holidays. Start writing in your meals.</div>
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<u><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Carol's Tips on How to Plan Meals</b></span></u></div>
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Tip #1:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Choose a day
and a time to do your meal planning. I usually end up doing this Monday
mornings. Be consistent.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Tip #2:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Decide the
time period you like to have planned ahead. I used to plan a month a head of
time when I was able to do our monthly Sam's Club trip. Now I plan only a week
ahead of time, because that seems to work better for us at this moment.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Tip #3:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make a list
of your usual meals. I have left a few pages for this in my planner. It was a
really big relief to have a list of the meals I make frequently. Once you have
a list, you can easily chose what you want and write it down on the day that is
most convenient.</div>
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Tip #4:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tip #3
doesn't mean that you won't ever make a new dish. You know which days are
really busy and could use an easy to fix meal. Plan to make a new dish or
complicated dish on those days you know are pretty free.</div>
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Tip #5:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be flexible
and have a backup plan. Changes happen and a free day becomes very busy. It is
good to have an easy to fix dinner on standby in the pantry for days like this.</div>
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Tip #6:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Put together
your shopping list right after you have finished your meal planning and plan to
shop it as soon as you can. The point of planning your meal ahead of time is to
have on hand the ingredients you need to make these meals. I usually shop once
a week for a week's worth of meals because I no longer have the room or
refrigerator/freezer space to more than a week's worth of food in my home. This
also eliminates wasted food as I try to buy things that will be eaten and won't
be forgotten in the back of the cupboard.</div>
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Tip #7:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look at your
meal planner at least once a day. Take out anything that needs to be thawed or
processed ahead of time. Example, If I'm making beans from scratch, I put the
beans on to soak the day before and it is in the crock pot cooking all day for
a quick mash and fry at dinner time.</div>
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I have developed another system that goes with my Meal
Planner. I'm still working out the kinks and frankly, I lost some of my
components in the move. I will be sure to share with you once I have it put
together.</div>
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Thanks for stopping by,</div>
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The Ladybug's Soapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08909167287032916811noreply@blogger.com0