IS IT THAT TIME AGAIN ALREADY?

A friend asked me whether or not I make New Years Resolutions. My reply? Um... not exactly. I believe change can come at any time. New Years is just that... a new year. Time and nothing more. I understand some people need a starting point to change but my changing points come throughout my life. I always joke close to New Years that I have to make changes but I seriously never do. I change when the feeling hits me. If it is April at 2 am and I feel like changing something, then I change it. 

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CHRISTMAS HAS COME AND GONE

All that preparation for a moment that comes and goes so quickly. Now it is time to move on to bigger and better things... like... pictures.

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THE GIFT BASKETS WERE A HIT!!

This year for my sister and her staff I decided to have a Christmas party. The girls and I have come through so much together in the past 9 months I wanted to do something nice for them. Since I'm always preaching to my staff about the dangers of chemicals in our environment (LOL) I thought it would be fun to make them gift baskets comprised of only handmade goodies. At the same time I wanted to support some of my fellow indie business pals.

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MY BACK IS KILLING ME!!

Seriously! I want to try and come up with some ingenius title for this blog post but my back hurts so bad that I can't think of anything else.

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MY BUSINESS IS GETTING A MAKE OVER

I went from crazy, over the top, ready to sell anything I could make business woman in the early 2000's to no business woman at all. After my mom died in 2007 my life took major turns. Some I was prepared for and some... well... not so prepared for. I tried holding onto the business end of myself but completely lost it. I didn't really want to make anything, just pretended like I did. I thought if I pretended than it really meant I wanted to but... we all know how that can go.

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UNDER THE WILLOW SENT ONE OF HER GIFTS

So no, I couldn't take a single picture of Carrie's laundry soap that would do it justice. So I'll just have to convey my excitement and the beauty of her product through words.

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BEFORE YOU REACH FOR THE HAND SANITIZIER…

Or antibacterial soap, think twice. As I mentioned in a previous post, antibacterial soaps contain an ingredient called Triclosan. Did you know that Triclosan is a pesticide?  CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

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THE ART OF BLENDING

I think anyone that works with essential oils knows that over half the fun is blending to create ones own scent. In my aromatherapy certification course we were challenged into creating a blend that not only smelled the way we wanted it to but would accomplish what we needed it to as well. 

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CHRISTMAS IN OCTOBER

It feels like Christmas anyway. I bought my first soap stamp and with the snow outside recently, it almost feels like Christmas. Especially since I felt like a kid on Christmas morning opening up my goody box with my soap stamp inside. I purchased my stamp from Soap Impressions and I think they did a really great job. The stamp is excellent quality, the base being solid wood and the impression made of metal. I'm pleased. What do you think? Diane from Soap Impressions provided excellent, fast customer service. I'd definitely do business with them again.

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HERBS OR SLEEPING PILLS, YOU BE THE JUDGE

Although I could talk about every single tincture I make, I don't want to over saturate your mind with this herbal hoopla. Once you learn about tinctures you pretty much know what you need to know, but I must share a little about lemon balm for those of you who suffer from insomnia.

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WORRIED ABOUT THE FLU? TRY ELDERBERRY

I'm not a proponent of vaccines so you won't see me and my family lining up for the H1N1 shot. I do however believe in herbal medicine. When your family has used herbal cures for centuries and passes along the positive benefits, you tend to listen. My great grandfather was blind until a native woman healed his site with crushed herbs. Now that is something I can't ignore.

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I FEEL PRODUCTIVE

I rarely feel like I get anything done. I keep doing and doing and doing but have nothing to show for it. No, this isn't a whine fest, just seriously feel like I get nothing done. LOL!

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SHOUT OUT TO A DOMESTIC GODDESS

Yup, this is me.

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I'M THANKFUL 3 MONTHS EARLY.

Who said we have to wait until Thanksgiving to be thankful. Actually, our family boycotts Thanksgiving. I would explain it but it's a long story. So, while I haven't been blogging quite as often as I should be, I've accumulated several things I'd like to say "I'm thankful" for.

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BEEN AWAY FOR A WHILE

Not that I didn't want to tell the world I was leaving, it just happened so fast that I didn't have time. A friend of ours has a place in the mountains and offered it up for our use, so who would decline, right? Usually when I go somewhere I like to have months to prepare. The original dates we chose to take

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KNOW YOUR RIGHTS... PART 2

A while back I wrote about "knowing your rights" when you are dealing with medical professionals. My post concentrated on the negative side of what I often see in the hospitals or clinics when dealing with doctors and nurses. Well, this post is about the positive side of things.

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BERRY PICKING IS ALWAYS A BLAST

The family ran out for some Berry Picking at Sam Kedem's nursery. As always, it was lots of fun to watch the girl running up and down the many rows of strawberries and rasberries. We could have hung out forever but decided we had enough to last us a couple days. Here is my tribe busy picking.

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OH HOW I LOVE THEE

Let me count the ways...

I have such a good hubby. It only took him 2 months to get the rain barrel set up but he did it and I love him more for doing so. 

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DO YOU BELIEVE IN ASTROLOGY?

When I was little I would always read those goofy horoscopes in the newspaper or magazines. Eventhough they were all generic and pretty useless (took me a while to figure that out) It didn't stop me from reading them since it was nice to hear that I was going to find the love of my life, travel the world, and have enough money to buy whatever I wanted. That sorta thing means a lot to a 10 year old.

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OUR LITTLE GETAWAY

Since my sister is doing well the family decided to take a little jaunt to Minnesota's North Shore. It is, by far, the most beautiful part of Minnesota. We take the kids up there at least once a year for camping and hiking. This year we decided to stay in a cabin (my back was thankful). It is the perfect spot. It was just the vacation our family needed, only a 3 hour drive from my sisters if we had to return quickly.

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HELLOOOO BLOGGING WORLD!

Things are somewhat settled and stable on our end so I've decided to return to blogging. Of course, I missed it like crazy and would peek in time to time just to make sure I wasn't missing out on toooooooo much.

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TIME FOR A BREAK

I'm giving the blogging world a little break. Not long, just enough time to deal with priority #1. My sister is in the hospital again. She had gallstone pancreatitis and we had to remove the gallbladder. Instead of your typical lapriscopic surgery she had to have an open. Her incision is about 6 inches long or more. Not pretty. Her recovery isn't going well. She can't eat and the lack of nutrition puts her at risk of developing other infections. She also developed blood clots.

For those of you who know her condition you can understand why it is time for me to focus on this and step away from the computer for a while. Thank you for all the well wishes on FB and inkstainers. I'll update you all soon.

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MAKE YOUR OWN BUG REPELLENT THIS SUMMER

Years ago, probably around 1992/1993, while I was rock climbing in the adirondacks I was introduced to the "black fly." It was my first exposure to black flies. My climbing guide had warned me that it was "black fly" season but the only black flies I knew of were those pesky kitchen flies. You know, the ones that are born as little maggots and then fly around until you kill them with a fly swatter. So, I didn't think twice about climbing during black fly season. 

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SPIRITUAL CLEANSING

Have you ever gone somewhere and came home feeling completely sapped of energy, not knowing why? Spent time with friends or family and walked away feeling low? Do you ever enter a room and feel an immediate urge to leave? 

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THE RISK OF USING PALM OIL

It doesn't help that I have 2 gallons of palm oil sitting in my soap kitchen. Everytime I read anything about Palm oil and the environment I get this urge to go and dump it all. Not such a bright idea considering I've already bought it and contributed to this mess. *sigh

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PIPELINE TO POLLUTION

I recently learned that a pipeline crossing Minnesota from Alberta Canada to Wisconsin is suppose to be put in this summer. This is EXTREMELY frustrating for those of us who believe we need to turn away from our dependency on oil and move in the direction of more renewable energy. What is wrong with a society when it continues to hold onto the old knowing that it isn't the best thing for us?? We are delaying the inevitable every moment we cling to our dependency on oil.

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DO YOU DRY BRUSH? YOU SHOULD.

If you haven't heard of dry brushing I really suggest you try it out. I've been dry brushing since my early 20's and it really does wonders for the skin. Not only do I notice improvement in my circulation but it makes my skin feel silky smooth. I find it best to do in the morning before my shower since it gives me that "wake up" feeling.

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LIVING GREEN

On Saturday I was really fortunate to sneak in some time at the Living Green Expo. This years goal was to find a local beekeeper where I could start getting my beeswax from. While I was there I picked up the LivGreen Magazine and they had some really fun recipes for children inside. Since I probably can't copy word for word what they have in the magazine I decided to search on the net for the equivalent.

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REIKI - HOW CAN IT HELP YOU?

Years ago, after learning about the benefits of Reiki from a woman sitting next to me at a Tibetan Film Festival in Minneapolis, I decided to become a practitioner. It took be several years to actually commit to doing it but I recently found the right teacher and have since taken my journey into the wonderful world of Reiki very seriously. 

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PALM OIL SUCCESSFULLY RESISTED

April 25, 2009
RELEASE: Major Victory for Ivory Coast's Rainforests as Oil Palm Successfully Resisted

Finally the oil palm scourge threatening primary rainforests and life giving ecosystems worldwide faces a setback as local protests are again successfully supported internationally by Ecological Internet, Rainforest Rescue and others.

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THE BEAUTY OF THE BACK YARD

My kids said I was probably one of the only people cutting down trees on Earth Day. They were traumatized. Planting new ones in their stead wasn't good enough for them, I had robbed the squirrels and birds of potential homes. I guess that was my momentary punishment for raising my kids to be environmentally conscious. LOL!

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SOAP BOX TUTORIAL

On top of being a soapmaker I love love love papercrafting. I'm a colors and creativity junkie (although I really can't color coordinate anything to save my own life - thank the God's for Stampin Up!) The more color and the more creative someone is, I'm totally there! I always google random things like "soap chunks" or "trifold cards" to see what cool things people are making. Yes, it can be quite addicting. My head and my eyes are hurting for it.

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KNOW YOUR RIGHTS...

Pardon me while I vent a bit in hopes of helping someone else.

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DOES ANYONE LINE DRY THEIR CLOTHES ANYMORE??

Since I can remember, my mother would dry our clothes on the line. Even during the winter she'd hang them out on the porch and once they froze over she'd bring them in to thaw so we'd be able to wear them the next day. 

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CHECK OUT MY NEW CARDS

I finally finished a few cards. Working on these has kept me sane the past few weeks. Don't ya love how crafting can be almost meditative when ya need it.

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THE WORST FRAGRANCE EVER

I've seen a few blogs where people discuss their favorite fragrances so I thought I'd ask, what is your least favorite fragrance (FO or EO)?

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CPSIA: Does anyone have new information?

I've been out of the loop for a while now on the whole Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and I was wondering what the latest is on that issue. I received a letter from one of our senators today and it seems things aren't looking so good for small manufacturers. Does anyone have an update they can share?

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REIKI

For many years I wanted to become a trained Reiki healer and today I finished getting Attunement I. It was a powerful experience. My instructor was Beth Hanson, she is an amazing artist and a very kind individual. Just being around her is relaxing. There were 2 others in our group, Susan & Casey. It was

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GREAT NEW PRODUCT ALERT!!

Make life a little easier and buy some great infused oils for use in your handmade soaps, balms, lotions, etc... Heidi over at VINTAGE FRESH SOAPS has done all the work for you by infusing wonderful herbs like sage, nettle, and calendula in top quality olive oil. 

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PHOTO TAG

Teresa at HOMESTEAD NOTES is doing a "photo tag" and the rules are:

1. Go to the 4th picture folder on your computer.
2. Post the 4th picture in that folder.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag 4 more bloggers

I don't have many pictures on my desktop computer. Once they are printed up I usually delete them (probably shouldn't be doing that but...). Here is the 4th picture in the 4th folder.

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A LITTLE LOTION GOES A LONG WAY

My friend Donna wanted to try her hands at some lotion so she came over on Friday and we whipped up a few recipes.

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TERESA SENT SOME FANTASTIC SOAPS OUR WAY

And the kids love em! We laid them out and the kids got to pick the ones they wanted (but they had to be equal, each getting a lego and a puzzle piece). Baby still thinks soap is for eating but we corrected her on that one (she'll get it someday). Thank you Teresa (from Life, Homesteading & Everything) for the cute soaps! They are really fun. I think Maya is trying to preserve hers cuz she refuses to use them and instead is keeping them on a shelf in her room. First words out of Middy's mouth "These are so cool, who gets to pick first?"

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WHY I'M GRATEFUL FOR MY CHILDREN: WEEK 2

It use to be that the best part of waking up was sunshine and the beginning of a new day, now the best part is seeing the bright eyes of my littlest girl Aiyana or hearing the chatter of our two older girls in the next room. Not only am I allowed to live yet another day but I get to live my days with 3 beautiful children.

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ANOTHER BLOGGING AWARD

It is always a wonderful feeling when another blogger recognizes you either as a friend, or just someone who writes something they enjoy reading. My dear blogging friend Carrie~gigi over at Under the Willow Gifts presented me with two new awards. 

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HEAT TRANSFER METHOD TUTORIAL

Ok ladies, this is my little post about the Heat Transfer Method (BTW/who coined that term??)

I learned about this a while back, I think first from snowdrift farm?? possibly. Maybe Steph @ Playing with Soap?? Anyway, over the summer I asked some ladies at the SOAPMAKERS CORNER about it. After learning a little more from HEIDI at SOAPAHOLICS ANONYMOUS and TRISHA at SUDS TO LOVE, I gave it a go. At first I convinced myself that it wasn't working, something about the soap wasn't right, but it was just my way of refusing to change and experiment. Call it... being a chicken. But once I realized it was a huge time saver and well, yes, it does work and works great, I decided not to go back to the old fashioned way of soaping ever again.

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100 BOOK CHALLENGE

I have this whole "spring renewal" thing going on for myself and part of that includes challenging myself to do things I know are difficult. I love to read but have a tendency to buy books I think are interesting and then place them on the bookshelf. I've accumulated 3/4 of Barnes & Noble and really need to read my books before I buy anymore, so I've decided to take the 100 Book Challenge listed over on J. Kaye's Book Blog.

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WHY I'M GRATEFUL FOR MY CHILDREN: WEEK 1

We all know there are million reasons to be grateful for our children so to pick one a week is a bit challenging because I'm inclined to list them all. But I promised myself I'd stick to one each time and this way, when my girls read this, they can appreciate the reasons more fully instead of running through a list of reasons and just forgetting about it. 

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HERE IT IS, MY FIRST BLOG GIVE AWAY!

Well, I thought I'd have my blog giveaway posted a few days ago but ended up commissioning doodlebug designs for a new blog look and decided to wait until that was finished. As you see, it is all done and I love it! I hope you like it too.

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OUR TIME IN HAWAII (OAHU)

A little photo journal of our time visiting Hawaii.

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BACK FROM OAHU!!

As expected, we had an absolutely glorious time on the island. When we arrived it was a bit cloudy and rainy but through the rain there was sunshine and the best part... lots of warmth. I missed the 27 below zero temps we reached here in Minnesota (THANKFULLY!). Didn't manage to connect with the Oils of Aloha people but that didn't stop me from buying their wonderful products. So for those of you who have not tried their kukui nut oil I am having my first blog giveaway. I did manage to slip in a Soap Factory tour and so I will be adding one of their products to the blog giveaway, a lipbalm and wooden turtle. The lipbalm is made with both kukui and macadamia nut oils. Another great place on the island is Island Soap & Candle Works. I arrived as they were setting some of their soaps out to cure and it smelled so wonderful so I picked up the pikake scented soap with matching scented candle. For those of you who have not used pikake fragrance in your products, it is a must!

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