Sibi's Life

Autumn is here in all its Glory!

2011-10-24T03:31:00.000-04:00

Hi all. Autumn is here with its crisp air, the smell of marshmallows roasting on fire, apple cider, caramel apples, cozying up to the fireplace and of course all the beautiful trees in their spectacular colors! I feel so alive in the fall, I don't know what it is about it that wakes me up from my summer slumber. I am hopeful again and happy. My situation hasn't changed much. There is one bright spot.....I got a part-time job working from home. It's not too many hours but I am not complaining at all, it is income coming in and that is ALWAYS a good thing, especially these days with the economy the way it is. I'm banking on God to find a solution to our woes since he is the only one who can provide my family with the miracle it needs. I give him all my praise and thanks!

My new hobby, quilting, is sorta taking over and I've neglected my soaping. Fact is though that I am out of a few supplies and just can't afford them right now but soon, hopefully, I'll get back into my soaping groove. Until then I am a quilting loony. I'm constantly thinking of who I can make one for, and what kind of design they might like, or colors and what fabrics, size, etc. It is quite maddening sometimes. I've got 3 projects going on at the same time right now. I'm making a super cute lap quilt for my sister Maria which I will post here as soon as I finish it. And also one for my hubby which I really like. Thank goodness for my hobbies, they keep me grounded and sane. :-)

Gonna share a few pics with you. The first one is my husband who turned the big 5 0 in August. I can hardly believe it!! I'm not there yet but will be soon. The other pics are of a beautiful fall night where my husband, son and myself went into our backyard and burned bunches of personal docs and papers. And took the opportunity to roast marshmallows too of course....YUM. Hope to post again soon....in the meantime, happy autumn everyone!

The very latest in my soaps....

2011-08-25T22:46:00.000-04:00

Just thought I'd post a pic of the soap I made last night. It's been a while since I've made any so I'm excited to start rolling with it again. Here's a pic.....hope you like it

Need prayers and a miracle

2011-08-23T01:40:00.000-04:00

Today is a Monday...already bad....and we are nearing the end of the summer. I STILL have no full time job. I just don't know what to do anymore. I've applied to so many places and NOTHING. I've started to declutter my house because we will have to sell, we can no longer afford the mortgage on this house since I am not working. I am so sad about all of this. We also have no health insurance and are in debt to our eyeballs. It just keeps getting worse and worse. We need a miracle. For those of you who may by chance come across my blog, kindly say a prayer for my family and for an end to our financial crisis. We would greatly appreciate it!!

My Papi's Apron

2011-08-17T16:54:00.000-04:00

Growing up my mom was the only one who did all the cooking and she was a great cook! After my parents retired, my mom decided she didn't really want to be cooking every day anymore so my dad (I call him Papi, the way Cuban kids call their dad) took over. Lo and behold, and who ever knew, my dad was such a good cook???? All those years....and we never knew he had this hidden talent. His meals are mouth watering good and now my mother gets to enjoy all his cooking and his experiments, which all turn out divine. So, since my dad is almost impossible to buy anything for, I thought this would be the perfect gift for his b-day (which was a few months ago..I'm a little late...forever the procrastinator). It's not perfect by any means, I used no pattern, I just sort of made it as I went, but there is my love in every stitch :) Here are a few pics:

A lap quilt made with love

2011-08-05T21:17:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, I won't be writing too much because my index finger on my right hand is all bandaged up from a nasty cut and I can't type with it so it's hard to type too much. Just wanted to share a pic of a guardian angel lap quilt and matching tote I made for my mom. I hope she likes them!! I'll post soon, I promise....

Lentils Anyone?

2011-07-05T22:01:00.000-04:00

Hi everybody, hope everyone had a safe and happy July 4 holiday. I did the grilling thingy, you know, chicken and burgers on the grill, with a baked potato and corn on the cob. Every thing turned out yummy according to hubby and son so that makes me happy. I also made a homemade salsa which also came out fresh and delicious :-)

A couple of nights ago I made some Chicken Milanese and Lentils. The lentils were made my way, using my own made up recipe and they came out really good. And I honestly think that they are even better on day 2. Once all the flavors have had ample time to morph together...that's when the yumminess of it all kicks in. Not to say that day 1 is bad, just saying that day 2 is better. Anyway, with that said, I thought I'd share my Recipe with anyone out there wanting to make Lentils a little differently than their own way. These are approximate measurements since I just throw stuff in w/out measuring.

Sibi's Own Lentils

1/2 bag of Lentils
1 whole onion (finely chopped)
1/2 green pepper (finely chopped)
approx. 2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp oregano
2 bay leaves
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1 small can of tomato sauce
4 slices swiss cheese

Cook the Lentils in medium high heat in a pot with plenty of water until fully cooked (approximately 45 min. or so). Keep an eye on the water because the it will keep evaporating and you'll need to add more, you don't want to burn the lentils. After 30 minutes I usually have a taste to see if they are done. In the meantime you are going to make a sofrito to go into the lentils. In a frying pan place enough oil to start frying the onions, green peppers and minced garlic. Add paprika, oregano and 2 bay leaves to the onion mixture. Sautee until onions and green peppers are nice and soft. When the lentils are done there should be a little water in the pot but it should not exceed the amount of lentils. Add sofrito to the lentils and cook on medium/low heat. Add tomato sauce, swiss cheese, salt and pepper (to taste). Let simmer on low for approximately 15 minutes then serve. They taste great over rice.

Optional: If you love bacon I also make them using bacon. I'll cook the bacon together with the onion sofrito (no need for olive oil, there's plenty of grease in the bacon) and when done, throw all of it in the lentils when lentils are done. Happy eating!

Here's a pic of my lentils with chicken:

Been a long time!

2011-06-28T22:45:00.004-04:00

I cannot believe that I have not posted for over a year....what a drag. I wanted to use this blog as a diary of sorts for my soapmaking journey and I've failed miserably. Well, what can I say, life happens. I'll try to keep it updated more frequently. I've learned so much more about soaping it is amazing!! And I've made some really cool soaps since the last time I blogged. I think that from time to time I will also use this blog to post my own food recipes and/or recipes I've tried and have really liked. Sharing is always a good thing, right?

As far as my personal life, not much has happened really since the last time I posted. I'm still in search of a permanent job. It sure is hard out there.....wish me luck, I will certainly need it...I'm going on 2 years w/out steady work. I've worked a couple of temp jobs but I need something permanent. So I put my faith in God's hands, he will look after my family and I and aid me in finding work.

I'm going to take this opportunity to post some of the soaps I've made throughout this past year. And I promise I'll be posting soon.

I've also picked up another hobby...sort of anyway. I've always been intrigued with quilting. I find them to be so beautiful and made with so much care and love, and that's what I like. The planning, execution and love that goes into every quilt made. For my son's b-day this year I made him 2 things, a rag quilt and a b-day cake...here's a pic of both:

Here's a pic of the quilt I made for my mom:

My newest Soap scented with Aspen Forest

2010-03-29T18:45:00.000-04:00

Howdy everyone. Just finished sending my taxes to my dad to take care of for me...thanks Dad! I hate tax time! I'm hanging in there, STILL looking for work. I really didn't think it would take me this long. I just hope it comes real soon or we're in some deep poop. I'll remain optimistic though and hopefully some good vibes will make it happen. I made a new batch of soap a week ago and rather than let it gel I popped it in the fridge. I am sick and tired of all my soaps ashing on me so I decided to stick it in the fridge right after making it and guess what.....NO ash!!! Yippeee, hooray! From now on that's how I'm going to do it. Here's a pic:

Spring is almost here!!

2010-03-09T23:47:00.003-05:00

Hello everyone! Well, the snow is almost gone and Spring is almost upon us. Thanks goodness, I am tired of the snow and overcast days, I want some sunshine!

I'm still searching for work and hoping that something comes up real soon. In the meantime I am trying to lose some weight and cutting back on my smoking. I also made a batch of soap a couple of days ago and wanted to post a pic. Not to happy with the way it turned out but let's see what happens once it's cured for a bit. The colors are actually quite pretty. Here it is:

Snowed in

2010-02-10T21:34:00.000-05:00

We were snowed in yet again. After getting 25 inches dumped last weekend, we got another 5-10 inches today. And what is worse are the blowing 60mph winds which are causing huge snowdrifts everywhere. Unless you have a 4 wheel drive there is no use in even venturing out there cause you WILL get stuck. So I spent my day making my son's b-day cake. He is 14....a teenager...yikes! I hope our battles will be few and far between, otherwise I may lose my mind. One day at a time.....

So here's a pic of the cake. It did not turn out very well but I'm not a baker so he knows I put in the effort and that's all that counts. There's a little boy on top of the cake which you can't see too well but it's there.

Winter Wonderland Feb 2010

2010-02-06T16:00:00.000-05:00

We are currently at Mother Nature's mercy...snow is coming down hard and we currently have at least 24 inches, and mother nature is not done yet. Because of the wind we have large snow drifts all over. This of course is a child's wish come true! And an adults worse nightmare,why? Because the driveways have to be shovelled and cleared. In all honesty though, it sure is pretty and magical looking. Our dog Scully absolutely loves the snow but I think this blizzard will prove differently since he can literally get lost in it...poor baby.

I've always been fascinated with cakes that are decorated with fondant. I think they look so crisp, clean and lovely. I love watching the new TLC show "cake boss". I'm NOT a baker by any stretch of the imagination, don't get me wrong. BUT I do like a challenge and since my son's b-day is approaching I thought I would make him a homemade cake this year...a fancy one. So I did a "tester" first to see if I was even capable. The colors did not come out to my liking so the cake turned out very pastel and girly. BUT, I did it! It was not too hard but very time consuming. I need to buy some better "guy" colors for my son's cake but I'm ready to make him a nice one. And when that's done....I won't make another one for a long while.

I'm attaching some snow pics and a pic of my fondant "tester" cake...enjoy

Pic of the back yard

Front Yard with a large snow drift

Neighbor's car is not going anywhere

View from my garage

My son & his friend shoveling snow

My son and his playmate Scully

Here it is, my first fondant cake

Well that's it for now folks. I may post more snow pics later or tomorrow when it ends.

More bread dough projects and some Christmas pics

2010-01-25T02:18:00.002-05:00

Howdy everyone. I know, I know, I'm a little late in posting Christmas pics, so what's new. I always wait until the last minute for everything, it's the story of my life. The procrastinator....that's me.

A few days ago I participated in a forum where a small group of members would make a craft and post the pic on the appointed day. As usual, the procrastinator (that's me!!) waited until the day before the pic needed to be posted before doing SOMETHING. But it had to be quick. Soooo, I made a wall plaque out of bread dough which I think came out pretty well considering it was done in such a short time. I'm also posting a pic of a bread dough project my son made for my x-mas gift....it is way cute! Here are the bread dough pics:

Sibi's smiling sun:

My son's x-mas gift:

Christmas pics:

Bread dough ornaments and Gingerbread house

2009-12-28T21:02:00.009-05:00

Hi everyone, hope your holidays were fabulous and fun! We had fun this year baking lots of cookies, yum! My son and I also made bread dough ornaments and put together a gingerbread house. I think we'll make this a tradition. The bread dough ornament recipe is soooo easy...

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup water

You just keep kneading it and adding flour, or water, depending on the consistency, until it feels like bread dough and doesn't stick to your hands. Then you can have all kinds of fun creating! I baked it at 225 degrees for several hours until they were hard. Here are some pics of my ornaments. I'll post my son's special bread dough creation with you as soon as he finishes painting it!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

2009-12-22T17:26:00.007-05:00

It's been a few years but we finally got a significant amount of snow! Quite a bit actually....blizzard like conditions. The snow started on Dec 18 and didn't let up until about 8pm the following day. It's soooo pretty and Nick and Scully have enjoyed the heck out of playing in it! I've spent most of my time indoors, warm and cozy. While I love the snow, I don't like the cold, hence my reluctance to hang out in it and shiver my tooshy off. Here's a few pics taken with my cell phone. Not the greatest quality but ya get the main idea.

Christmas is right around the corner...just 3 more days! My shopping is done for the most part and my packages all sent. The house is decorated so the only thing left of course is ..... cookies! I've got all the stuff now I just need a kick in the pants to make them all. I want to make a bunch because some cookies I'll be giving out as gifts. So much to do....so little time. I also have to wrap presents still. Ugggg.

2009-11-20T19:51:00.001-05:00

Made some soaps with curly cue embeds in it. The scent is Inspire and although it is lovely...it is a bit soft so it'll need a nice long cure time. Here's a pic:

Honor Roll!

2009-11-10T23:41:00.003-05:00

For the first time my son is on the A/B honor roll. I am very proud of him because he's been working very hard for this! To commemorate this special occasion and show him how proud I am of his achievement I bought him a large giant cookie decorated just for him. Here's a pic:

I hope he'll be able to keep this up!! I'm very happy!:-) I love you bunches boo!

That time of the year.....to get sick

2009-11-09T20:03:00.006-05:00

Well everyone...what did I expect..to dodge the sick bug forever? I mean really, what was I thinking, I was immune??? NEVER. It will eventually attack us all in some degree or another. In other words I was sick all weekend....bummer! And it was one of those OMG it is GORGEOUS fall weather outside -- crisp, cool, not a cloud in the sky, sunny, ya get the idea? And I spent all of it inside nursing a nasty cold that hasn't let me sleep much so I'm a walking bit** right now. Oh how lovely for my family. Actually I've been keeping my distance from them so as not to infect them and shower my yucky mood on them. They should be grateful!

In spite of my grumblings and clogged up respiratory system I made soap. Where I got the energy I don't know...but I made 3 batches, unheard of for me in 1 day. So I will share my pics as always.

Spiced Pear

Snowflake

Vanilla Bean

Beautiful fall day!!

2009-10-25T16:48:00.004-04:00

Wow what a lovely day we've had today! Nicholas, Luis and Scully have been outside almost all day playing baseball. Scully is the ball chaser and keeper, Luis is the pitcher and Nicholas is batting. They are having a blast and the weather outside is just perfect for it, crisp, cool, and sunny! I'm posting a couple of pics here.

Also I made another batch of soap last night that came out really nice. I scented it with coolwater fragrance, a very masculine smell but lovely and refreshing. I'm posting a pic of that soap here too. Would write more but it's too pretty outside to be stuck inside sitting at my computer all day. Have a great day everyone!

The boys playing baseball

The ball keeper

Coolwater Soap

Learning as I go

2009-10-20T11:53:00.004-04:00

So, what's new, I've got a new soap to post. It's scented with Spiced Plum and smells absolutely delicious. My hobby is so much fun and I learn something new every time I make a new batch. The scents, colors, recipes,....FUN! When I'm feeling antsy, bored, or blue, I concoct a new recipe and whalla....a new soap is born. For the first time since my soapmaking adventurs started I've had a couple of batches seize on me, you know....soap on a stick. When this happens ya gotta move, move, move or you're in trouble with a bowl full of hardened soap. I've managed thus far to move fast enough to get it in the mold, thank goodness..but just barely!

Aside from the soaps I also baked a cake from scratch. I don't bake very often, it's just not my thing. But the other day it was a dreary day, raining, cold, and overcast gray skies. I wanted something sweet but didn't want to venture outside in the rain. So I used what I had in my pantry and made a lovely chocolate cake with buttercream frosting. It came out quite yummy and pretty too. Simple mind you, I'm not a baker, but a pretty color.

Right now I'm in the process of finding a new job as an administrative assistant. It's not going to be easy finding this job for the kind of money that I need, close to my house but I am ever hopeful that God will help me find this job that I so desperatly need. Of course, working from home would be my ideal situation, but really, how many legit "work at home" jobs are out there? Not many I'm sure. If anyone reading this knows of a legit full-time, good paying job that can be done from home let me know. I want to be employed by someone - not own my own business.

Well, that's all for now. Here are a couple of pics for you:

New Soapies

2009-10-16T21:47:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to post my new "Autumn Spice" soap made a few days ago and the cut pic of my break the rules soap.

Autumn Spice

Break the Rules Soap

Summer day in October

2009-10-09T22:28:00.018-04:00

Today was just like a beautiful August summer day. Not a cloud in the sky, hot outside, just lovely. I can't believe it's almost mid-October. Geeesh, the weather here is soooo unpredictable!

My soaping adventures continue...... Yesterday I made a soap that totally morphed into weirdness and I don't have a clue as to why. Then today I go to look at the soap (scented with a dupe of Estee Lauder's Pleasures) and it's morphed yet again...actually much better. I just don't get it???? Then tonight I throw caution to the wind and make a break the rules soap and decide on 3 colors and hope for the best. I think I got great colors!! Here goes...

This is the funky soap....notice the weird middle?

This is what it looks like cut

This is what it looks like today, one day later.
Do you understand?

And here's the soap I did tonight ;-)

Soaping sure is a learning experience. I thought I'd share my break the rules soap recipe with you all. This recipe is for a 3 pound batch/superfatted at 15%. Here goes:

Coconut Oil 1020 grams (36 ounces)
Cocoa Butter 340 grams (12 ounces)

Water 397.9 grams (14 ounces)
Lye-NaOH 198.9 grams (7 ounces) (lye concentration of 33.3%)
Fragrance 1 ounce (2Tbsp) per pound of oils (this recipe would take 6 Tbsp.)

I added powdered milk to the water (follow instructions on the brand you buy)

Melt your oils and let them cool (I usually add my fragrance to the oils but you can add at trace if you like). Then mix your powdered milk with very cold water until well mixed. Add your lye to the milk slowly, stirring as you go. The solution will likely turn yellow but don't worry you'll still get nice soap, just keep your nose away from the lye solution. Let the lye solution and oils reach room temperature or close to it. Now add your lye/milk solution to your oils and start whisking and stick blending until you get to trace. What you do with it from this point is entirely up to you. Add 1 color, 2 colors, whatever you like. Let cure for 4-6 weeks.

Happy soaping! ;-)

2009-10-03T21:41:00.005-04:00

Last night my highschool friend Judy and her daughter and my son and I went to my old highschool's homecoming game. Judy and I have been going for the last 2 or 3 years so it's sorta become a tradition now. It's always fun to go back there and relive memories in my mind of all the football games I attended while in highschool. Now I'm going to date myself.....ready......it was almost 30 years ago. Yep, I was class of 1980, a great year!! I had some really good times in highschool going to games, pep rally's and dances. The music of the 70's was the best! I just can't believe that time has flown by so incredibly fast. I now have a son who will be going to highschool next year. My baby is growing up so fast....the time has just whizzed by. I can scarcely believe that within 3 short years I will hit 50!!! OMG! I still feel like I'm in my 20's (in my mind anyways-my body tells me otherwise ;-)). We won the game last night. We totally smeared the opposing team. I mean really, we had 4 touchtowns already in just the first quarter!!! And it rained sporadically throughout the night so it was pretty much....umbrella's open...umbrella's closed.....umbrella's open....umbrella's closed....you get the idea. We had a really good time anyways. Judy and I thought that we would see some fellow classmates from our class because on Facebook they said they were coming but sadly we didn't. Oh well, there's always next year.

Today was a beautiful crisp fall day. Nicholas went with his friend to an apple orchard to pick apples and make apple cider. I took Scully to the Vet where he got some more shots. When I came home I had planned on going to one of the many festivals going on around town but decided not to. What's the point when you can't spend any money right? So I stayed at home doing nothing. I had planned on making some soap and that didn't happen. I was feeling mighty lazy and sort of blue...don't know why. It was just ....one of THOSE days. I'm sure you all have had them.

I have a couple of new pics of my dear puppy Scully (one with my dear son) I thought I'd share with everyone. They were taken a couple of days ago.

2009-09-28T11:40:00.004-04:00

My newest creations. I made some really fun Sugar Scrubs yesterday and used a fragrance called Cake Bake. Last night Nick was doing his homework sitting right next to my sugar scrubs. He said to me "mommy, you have to move those somewhere else because they smell soooo good I want to eat one!" I tried one and they're the bomb! Here they are:

I also made some nice soap with Hawaiin Rain fragrance, and while they smell awesome, the color weirded out on me yet again. Sooooo frustrating!! I wanted orange but instead got yellow on the inside and orange on the outside. Weird huh?

So there you have it, my learning experiences are far from over when it comes to soapmaking. That's the fun of it though, experimenting to your heart's desire! ;-)

Just found an old pic of me

2009-09-20T13:32:00.001-04:00

It’s amazing what old age will do to a person. Was looking through some old pics and came across this pic of me at 27. Gosh those were the good old days! I surely miss being in my 20’s, they were the best times of my life. I was young, healthy, thin!!, and happy. I personally think marriage is overrated. But motherhood, that is the very best!! My son is my everything! Now if I could just go back to my twenties with my son then I’d be a very happy girl. I know, wishful thinking…. I’m just not happy about growing old. It really sucks!

My latest soaps-Lemon Verbena with Forbidden Fruit

2009-09-19T18:24:00.003-04:00

These soaps actually came out pretty. The colors didn't freak on me however I had problems with ash as usual. Hate that stuff!! So I chopped of the tops and made the scraps into little balls for some future project down the road. I'm happy with the way they turned out. Here's some pics:

Ocean City day trip

2009-08-27T02:25:00.010-04:00

Nicholas and I went on a trip to Ocean City on Monday, August 24, 2009. We had a really fun time. He got to do a lot of swimming in the ocean, we walked and perused many of the nice shops, we ate some good food (thrashers fries, yummm!!!) and did some people watching. The weather was perfect and all was well. By the time we were ready to leave at 9pm we were both beat from spending the entire day in the sun. But ohhhh, it was worth it. Here are some pics from our lovely day together!

Nick and I in the Ocean City Sunshine

Thirsty boy!

Nick sporting his new hat, SMOKIN.......

What a lovely profile!!

Just comin out of the freezing water....brrrrr

Me....the whale

Such a hunk!

Lookin good

My other soap

2009-08-14T01:00:00.009-04:00

Well, here's the other soap from the other night. I promised to post the pic so here it is, scented with Forbidden Fruit:

Fruitopia

This blog is serving to be my journal of my soapmaking journey. I want to be able to go back to see how far I've come. It will also serve as a journal for life-changing events and daily occurences that I feel compelled to journal about.

Some New Soaps

2009-08-12T20:19:00.006-04:00

I hadn't soaped in a couple of weeks so I made 2 batches last night. 1 with "monkey farts" fragrance which sort of smells like fruit/candy so I think I'll name this soap "Candyland". The other batch I made with a scent called forbidden fruit so I think I'll name that one "Fruitopia". I only have pics of Candyland right now. Will cut Fruitopia tomorrow and post pics then. Here's candyland.....not great pics but you get the idea....

Here's the soap uncut:

Here's the soap cut:

The start of my time-off

2009-08-10T20:13:00.002-04:00

Howdy folks. Today, Monday, August 10, 2009 starts a new phase in my life. Very shortly, after a short stint telecommuting for the World Bank until end of November, I will no longer be staff there. Hooray, yipee, hip,hip,hooray, woohoo!!!!!!!!!!! Can you tell I am happy about this new development? I am elated yet apprehensive because now comes a time that I will have to look for new work and that may prove to be very difficult but with God on my side I know I'll be fine.

This has been a long time in coming. I've been wanting it for 20 years. I've never felt that I was a good fit there. So my life starts anew.....woohoo! I'm on vacation for the month of August so I'll have time to spend with my son Nicholas and time for making some soap. I'll try and document the days so as to have a journal to look back on. Scully, our new labradoodle, is doing just great. He has his good days and his bad, naughty days (pees all over) but overall he's doing amazingly well. He's such a sweety ya can't help but fall in love with him. Today he got to meet a black cat named panther and got so excited that he had a potential playmate that he started chasing after the cat and scared it half to death. He just wanted to play ;-)

Take care all, I'll be back soon.

A Soapin weekend

2009-07-19T15:06:00.004-04:00

I hadn't made any soap in quite some time, about 4 weeks and was feeling the yearning so I made 2 batches yesterday. One came out great! A manly soap scented with Aspen Forest for my husband and son. It smells lovely and even looks quite nice with swirlies and all. The second batch remains to be seen. It was scented with Creme Brulee which naturally turns the soap brown. I colored a small bit of soap with pink and left it unscented. I don't really like the way it smells but I'm hoping it'll change or grow on me. If it doesn't then I may use it as doggie soap, who knows. Anyways, here are some pics....

an up close of the swirlies

Creme Brulee Squared

Creme Brulee Round

Scully

2009-07-05T10:53:00.004-04:00

Well folks, we finally did it, we added a new member to our family, a beautiful black labradoodle puppy which we've named Scully. Nicholas and I drove down to North Carolina, a 3 1/2 hour drive, to pick him up on July 4, 2009. He is very frightened and doesn't move around much. I'm guessing he is still not sure what happened. And he must miss his brothers and all the other dogs that surrounded him at the breeders house. I hope that with time he'll get over all this and be happy with us. We've only had him for 1 day be already we love the little guy! Here are a couple of pics of him. I'll get better ones in the future.

My first beer soap

2009-06-16T22:13:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to post a quick pic of my first beer soap/shampoo bar. It'll need to cure for 4 weeks before I can test it out on my hair. I can't wait!!! I'll post the results here.

Monday, Monday......

2009-06-15T14:40:00.006-04:00

It's Monday, but a beautiful one at that. It's one of those picture perfect sunny, not a cloud in the sky, days when you're stuck inside an office bldg. the whole day ;-( Woe is me.....

Despite the fact that I must work I am in a rather good mood for a Monday, suprisingly. It could be because I got loads of sleep this past weekend. I stayed up late on Friday and Saturday nights and woke up LATE. The only thing I don't like about waking up real late, 11:30ish for me, is that I feel like half of my day is already gone, ya know? That sucks! But I am rested and that's always good.

I made a few salt bars over a week ago, which seem to be all the rage in our soap making forum and I never posted photos and since I want this blog to be a sort of history of my soaping hobby I'm going to post the pics of my first ever salt bar. Rather than worry about color issues I just colored it with Paprika and it turned out a nice peachy color which I'm happy with. However some parts of the soap are quite crumbly which I'm not happy with but I believe I either waited to long to cut it or I put it in the fridge instead of letting it gel. I'll have to do some more experimenting with this to figure out what went wrong. But all in all the soap came out quite nice for a first try. I'm gonna post the recipe here for anyone who is interested in giving it a go:

Sibi’s Salt Bar

Total oil weight: 2 pounds
Water as percent of oil weight: 38
Super Fat/Discount: 7

Olive oil: 16 ounces
Coconut (76 deg): 8.32 ounces
Shea Butter: 4.48 ounces
Castor Oil: 3.2 ounces

Water: 12.16 ounces
Lye - NaOH: 4.347 ounces

Add 16 ounces of salt to oils (50%). Add lye solution to oils, bring to trace and add approx. 1 Tbsp. honey. Add your favorite fragrance, and color (I used paprika for color but any soap safe coloring can be used) and put in mold. If you let it gel you will need to keep an eye on it and as soon as it gets hard cut it because if you wait too long it will crumble when you cut. Good luck!

What's up?

2009-06-01T12:33:00.004-04:00

I've got the hohums cause the weekend just zipped on by. Now I have to drag my behind for 5 days before the next one................bummer.

My first ever soap swap was so much fun I'm gonna have to do it again real soon!! I received some lovely homemade goodies and it felt like a mini-christmas in a box. I will post some of the pics later when I'm at home. Right now I'm at work on a break.

I've been retaining loads of water lately and my Doctor gave me a prescription diuretic which I'll have to say I'v been reluctant to take. You shouldn't take them too often because they can mess up your kidneys and who wants to do that. But the amount of water I'm retaining in my ankles and calves has become ridiculous. Sooooo, I bit the bullet and took a pill Friday evening. OMG - I was going to the ladies room every 10-15 minutes!! My sleep was interupted repeatedly. But you know what? Overnight I lost 8 pounds!!! Imagine that, that's how much excess water I was carrying around, mostly in my feet it seems!!

Gosnopping is doing quite well with traffic. I hope to see it take off real soon. It is such an awesome site that I can't imagine it doing anything but being off the charts successful. It is so visually appealing and the stores on each street are the best out there. I believe that the future of the internet is going in that direction. Keep the audience engaged and the people will come. I'll keep ya posted on future developments with Gosnopping.com. And if you haven't been there, for goodness sakes, go check it out!

I made some more soap the other day and all went well except with the coloring. Golly, I surely need to take a course in "soap coloring 101" or "soap coloring for dummies" cause I'm a total dork when it comes to getting the colors I want. In the pic below all you'll see is a yellow soap. Do you think that was my intention? You'd be wrong. I wanted blue and green.....duh....how the heck did I get yellow???? I've already figured out why but I'm too embarrassed to tell you all so I'll just leave it at that, you'll probably figure it out at some point.

Have a good one everybody! ;-)

2009-05-25T17:54:00.002-04:00

Just had to post this. This was actually supposed to be a 1 lb. test batch of oatmeal/honey soap made room temperature cold process, but w/out melting any of the hard(solid) oils ahead of time. I wasn't expecting it to work or expected to have problems when I added the honey to the mixture. But everything went quite well and I produced a lovely, moisturizing soap. How about that??? When I want things to work out perfect they never do and when I'm expecting the worse I get something pretty nice. It's all in the cosmos I tell you. Either the full moon at work or Murphy's law. Glad it worked in my favor this time though ;-)

2009-05-11T14:26:00.004-04:00

Don't have time to post right now, just wanted to share my newest batch of soap scented with Apricot-Papaya and a little Patchouli. I'm not terribly happy with the way the colors came out, and it's a bit greasy right now but that could easily change after the 4-6 week cure. Let's see what happens. I will be giving this soap away in a Spring Swap that I am participating in. Oh what fun, my first swap!! ;-)

I've made a wonderful new friend

2009-04-29T16:53:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone. Haven't posted in a little bit and much has happened.

On Thursday, April 17, 2009 I had to go to the ER early in the morning. The reason - I just couldn't breathe.... at all. It started the day before when around mid-day I was short of breathe. By the time I had to go home, I could only walk a few steps before stopping to catch my breath. By Thursday morning I just could not breathe at all and I was scared to death. My husband called 911 and the ambulance came to take me away. I was nebulized on the ride over to the hospital and again in the ER. After being nebulized, given a steroid and oxygen I was feeling better. The pollen count is pretty nasty out there this Spring but not THAT bad. Sooooo, what does it all mean? I quit smoking. These last 2 weeks have been HELL and I've put on weight (not happy bout that ;-( ) but at least I'm feeling better in my chest. I'm still using my inhaler as needed and taking Zyrtec but I'm managing. Gees, why do I have to be scared out of my mind to do something I shoulda done a long time ago. I may have an occasional cig here and there but just socially. My daily smoking days are OVER. But OHHHHH do I miss them......

Well, that's one BIG thing that's happened to me lately. The other nice thing that's happened is that I've made a new friend that happens to live quite close to me and shares my love of soaping. Actually, she is an expert and is selling her awesome products now. But we get along famously and I'm hoping that our hubbies will get along too! Luis and I are having them over for dinner this Saturday. I'm sure all will go well because her and her hubs are both super nice! Aren't new friends great!!!! Here's a pic of her and I at the farmers market last week:

Staff Appreciation Day

2009-04-15T15:51:00.004-04:00

Today at the World Bank was Staff Appreciation Day. They had bunches of booths and gave us as our annual gift a sports watch. Well they had a booth where they superimpose your face onto a famous person's body of your choosing. Last year I did J-Lo so this year I thought I'd go with Marilyn Monroe. Well, I don't think I'm good as a blonde. The mole isn't mine by the way. It's fun though so in the spirit of it's funness (I don't think this is a word but I don't care, I know what it means) I myself am chuckling at the picture. I sure do owith I could have her body though!!!! That would be divine!

It's dreary and raining outside and I wanna go home! I'm posting now at 4pm and just counting the minutes till I can leave......1...2...3......on they drag, never ending.....stretching themselves out to annoy me - and it's working! Will this day ever end???? It won't end soon you know why - because I am WAITING for it. Argggggg

Tuesday - Spring is here at last

2009-04-14T13:27:00.003-04:00

Man, I'm pissed. I just spent about 20 minutes writing up an entry for this blog and just lost it ALL. Now I don't feel like typing it all again, grrrrrr.

I'm just going to say that I'll write later when I'm feeling more inclined to share my thoughts for the day. Until then, here's a silly pic of me taken today. Yep, that's what I do when I'm bored - silly stuff. Hasta luego!

My favorite day - Friday

2009-03-27T15:33:00.002-04:00

Guess I'm in a bloggin mood on Friday's cause most of my posts happen on this day. I don't have many plans for this weekend and I'm sort of glad about that. I will be meeting up with my dear highschool buddy Judy and her daughter for lunch tomorrow but that's about it. I'm going to make some soap and chill the rest of the weekend. I'm very tired these days and I wouldn't be surprised if it was because I don't get enough sleep (5 hours max) and because of my 2 hours (each way) commute to work. Argggg! I hate it!!!

Don't know if anyone out there ever reads my blog but if anyone does, please send up some prayers to our heavenly father for my dear brother- in-law Chip, who has just been diagnosed with cancer. It'll be a fight for sure but prayers are always our best defense and I sure would appreciate it! ;-)

Monday Blues

2009-03-23T12:21:00.002-04:00

I sure do hate Mondays - with a passion. Every Monday I wake up and think, ummmm, what excuse can I come up with today to get out of going to work. I guess is doesn't help that I have a 2 hour commute or that I HATE my job. I'm here at work cause I just don't feel comfortable with a lie but the fact remains I do this EVERY Monday morning and at least 2-3 times a week. It's a real drag.....

My son and I went to Delaware this weekend and stayed with my parents. It was a beautiful weekend with sunny skies and a mild temperature. My parents took Nicky and I to see the movie Duplicity. I didn't really enjoy it much - as a matter of fact I dozed off a few times. I ate like a crazy person, way too much. So much in fact that I was too scared to step on the scale this morning. I don't want to look. But I MUST start some kind of regimented program and lose at least 10-20 lbs fast to give me a head start. Gosh I hate stuggling with this weight problem. Thin folks who can eat what they like don't know how good they have it!!

I'm going to do some serious surfing of the net to see what kind of diet I should try this time :-( Gastric bypass is NOT an option. Yikes!

TGIF

2009-03-20T16:55:00.005-04:00

Boy oh boy, long time no post. The holidays came and went and I didn't come near my blog. Oops. Well, my newest hobby is soapmaking. I'm obsessed with it and just can't get enough of it. I'm always thinking about what kind of ingredients will make the best bar of soap EVER. But since the cashflow is not flowing at the moment I am very limited in the kinds of ingredients I can buy. Soooo, I've made 3 batches so far with fairly inexpensive ingredients that can be found locally. Batch #1 and 2 worked pretty well but I had problems with batch #3. I had to rebatch it cause I didn't want to toss it. Now I have to wait to let it cure to see if it will be an acceptable and moisturizing soap.

I still have loads to learn but am happily willing to do it cause it's just so much fun. I'll post some pics of batches 1 and 2:

November 8, 2008

2008-11-08T14:27:00.004-05:00

Here are this year's Halloween pics:

Dad and son

Me and my boo

Oo0h, you're bad!

Ro Rock on!

There you have it. I did the make-up which took a while but it was worth it. He got a little too much candy if you ask me but that's all part of being a kid I suppose. I just hope dentist visits won't be forthcoming!

It's a lovely fall Saturday and I'm sitting here at my computer as usual. Just glue my butt to the seat, this is where I am most of the time.....sad but true. I gotta get out more right? The fall crisp air beckons and I'll probably ignore it.

Well, that's all for now. Got some work to do. Till next time.......

November 7, 2008

2008-11-07T15:20:00.000-05:00

Gosh, I didn't realize that it had been so long since I "blogged". Hmmm. Gotta work on that. Anyway, we are now in November, my favorite time of the year. The trees and sky are lovely and the air is crisp. To me the autumn always feels like a new beginning. I just love it. And the greatest thing of all - I have not suffered from allergies this year, woohoo!!!!! I'm happy, happy, happy! This time of the year usually finds me coughing and hacking, non-stop. I'm taking a bazillion supplements these days which may have helped to boost my immune system, hence no allergies.

I recently (November 3 to be exact) started a new weight loss plan called Crack the Fat loss code by Wendy Chant. It is a diet that is based on "carb cycling". The first week is basically carb deplete week - 20 g of carbs or lower. YIKES!!! This is what I am doing now and let me tell you, it is HARD!!! I feel like crap most of the time and I feel weak. But I must forge ahead if I'm to lose all this weight that is dragging me down and look decent in a pair of jeans again. This diet is a lot harder than I ever expected. Anyway, I'll probably be talking bunches about this diet or my lack of willpower in being able to do it (hopefully not the latter.....)

I wanted to post some pics of halloween this year but I first have to pay bills ;-( so I'll come back to chat some more, in the meantime....TGIF!!!!!

August 12, 2008

2008-08-12T17:58:00.000-04:00

Thought I'd start a blog for fun and to tell ya the truth I don't have much to say. I'll probably post some pics later but for now am feeling rather lazy so I'll save it for later.