Rice Bran Oil & Nettle Leaf Who Knew

This is the result of a soap I made on Monday night via the Hot Process Method (loving it ).I used Rice Bran Oil as my staple in the soap instead of Olive Oil. But I was unsure of what the outcome was going to be. I did a brief research on Google and posted inquiries on several soap forums (Teachsoap, Soapmaking Chronicles, Indie Beauty)
Some soapmakers have used it and suggested that Rice Bran Oil has similar qualities to the Olive Oil. While some have not used it. I took caution to the wind and used it in the soap pictured to the left.

In addition to the new oil, I brewed a tea of Stinging Nettle Leaf that was the water portion of the soap process. I decided to try it after viewing my friend's blog Gracefruit and reading her experience using the herb. The tea from the Stinging Nettle gave the soap its color. I scented the soap with a Yuzu fragrance oil sample and Tangerine essential oil from Brambleberry. (Hi Anna Marie) I can say that the soap was harder coming out of the mold than if I used the Olive Oil as a base. But the true test will come in a couple of weeks when the bars are ready for use.


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Uplift & Encourage Women Day - Grateful

The question of the day is : What are you grateful for?

For me, I am grateful to God that after being unemployed for eight months with no money to pay bills, no unemployment benefits (for reasons too long for this post), God has kept me safe , kept me family fed, kept a roof over our head, kept myself and my family healthy. I could go on.

The point is we all have something everyday to be grateful for.

What about you: What are you grateful for?

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Uplift & Encourage Women Day

It's official. I have dedicated a new holiday for this blog for women. LOL
I loved it the first time, I might as well keep up with it.

We as women have dreams. They are either for our children, spouses, families, jobs, careers, money etc. But the main dream we need to hold on to and fulfill is the one we keep for ourselves. So often we put ourselves last because we are the nurturers of the whole world. I can say this is true of myself. I had lots of dreams when I was younger. I had dreams when I got married. I had dreams when I had my kids. But each time the dream that I had for myself was left for last. Was it my own fault, yes and no.

Children, friends and family lead by example. They lead by our example. They look at what we accomplish no matter how small or large and they see that they can do it as well.

So ladies, keep on dreaming. But don't leave the dream in your mind. Get it on paper and move. Let's all get Closer to our Dreams:



What about you? What dreams do you want to fulfill now and not someday? Is there something holding you back? If there is move it out of the way :)

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My Signs of Spring

Gerbera Daisies are the flowers that give me that happy feeling.

Here are some of the daisies I have encountered this past week:

I had those in my house for a week. As you can see, one did not survive. :(

How she looked was how I felt all week, wilted.

I went to Wally World (Walmart) and started looking in the garden center to see if they had my favorite flowers. This beauty was screaming for me to take her home. LOL So I brought her and a couple of friends and planted her in this window box. It gives me something to look at when I am down or need a pick me up.

What about you? Do you have any signs of Spring where you are? Some of my friends are experiencing snow (yes in April) and rain like never before. What gives you that Spring time feeling?

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Lemon Mint Soap

After my ordeal with the hunt for dried lemon peels, I went ahead and made my Lemon Mint Soap. In place of the peel (still researching), I added this essential combinations of:
Lemongrass
Litsea Cubea
Orange Valencia
Peppermint Oil

It smelled so good when I added the essential oils. I added a superfat of Avocado Oil to the soap so the citrus combination would not be drying to the skin.
Here is the end result:

Someone needs to invent the "Scratch & Sniff" computer. LOL I wish you could smell these. I am thankful that even though I did not have my dried lemon peels to add to the soap, it still came out good.

These will be added to my etsy store in a couple of weeks. They need to cure.

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You Don't Carry Dried Lemon Peel ?????

This evening I was going to make Lemon Mint Soap. I typically add dried lemon peel because citrus essential oils fade in natural soaps. I add the citrus essential and fragrance oil and the lemon peel helps it to stick. It is great.

So I took a trip to Whole Foods because in the past they carried the dried citrus peels. It is a thirty minute drive for me to get there but with my son in tow, it takes longer. :)

There were signs that maybe I should have stayed home. When we got there, the power went out in the store. No problem, I just assumed they would fix the problem in a couple of minutes and the backup generator would kick in. (First Omen). I proceeded to go to the aisle with the dried herbs. I was ready to grab my purchase and leave. I get there and the aisle is totally changed (Second Omen). Everything is categorized different than what I was used to. No harm no foul, I go to the spices and believe that I will find my dried lemon peels there. I look once, twice and a third time, no dried lemon peels. (Third and Final Omen).

So I thought maybe I have the wrong section and they moved it. (Still in denial). I start looking around the store in the "dark" and I still do not see what I am looking for. I flag down someone at the information desk who brought me to a different area. Hooray, maybe I am just blind and I didn't see the lemon peels there. But to no avail, there were no lemon peels in that department. She even called someone in the grocery department to double check. The response, "the item has been discontinued".

So I took my determined self back home and now the search is on for dried lemon peels online. :(

What about you? Have you been in search for something to only be let down by the outcome? How did you handle it?


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A New Earth - Chapter 2 & 3

"The thing that we have overlooked in our life is the most important - it is the present moment" - Eckhart Tolle

The above quote was taken from the online course for the Oprah Book Club on A New Earth. For me, this has been my constant theme while reading this book. These chapters go into the definition of the ego is and the characteristics of the ego respectively. In a nutshell, the ego will always be in us. The key to our succumbing the ego and the negative talk that we conduct in our heads is to be aware of the negative talk, accepting it but not following through with it. We must also grasp that we are to live for what is going on right now in our lives. Not the past or the future but right now. If you are enjoying the book and the online classes like me, please share your comments.

You can always view the online classes at http://www.oprah.com/

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