Mad May Catch-up

So it's May already and the year is spinning by. Thankfully for us Queenslanders the first weekend in May is a long weekend with the Labor Day holiday today being a much appreciated addition to the weekend.

To keep things reasonably concise, here is a brief rundown on what we've been up to this long weekend: both boys played soccer this weekend and both of their teams won their match (makes a nice change, trust me!)

Lucas' mate Elliot came for Saturday night - they have been tight friends since Grade One and are peas in a pod - luckily they include Simon in everything too! Lucas then went to Elliot's for Sunday night - so a nice quiet one here with Simon! It's going to be a shock when they are in different Year 8 classes next year!

We've been out visiting today too which has been nice - always great to get out and about and have a coffee with friends while the kids climb trees.

Poor Masa had a sleep-over of his own at the vet after jinxing his neck somehow. He is home now and still very quiet and completely nlike himself. Hopefully the anti-inflammatory medicine will work wonders and he'll be up and about soon!

Yesterday I cooked up a couple of soap batches. The first one, is coloured with cocoa powder and fragranced with Mocha Essence. I also sprinkled some instant coffee granules on top - must say that it smells divine and looks creamy enough to eat (which I won't despite the temptation!!) The first picture is it gelling away in its mould and then looking mighty delicious all sliced up!

The second batch is a raspberry soap and my first real attempt at a swirl. Welllllllllll ... I have a little practice required to perfect swirling! Luckily it smells absolutely divine even if it does not quite look as intended. I have a fair idea about what to do differently next time, but I guess what I love so much about soapmaking is not ever really knowing how it will turn out. The big creamy globs were actually meant to be delicately and intricately swished through the bar, but I guess practice will eventually make perfect ..... I do hope anyway!

Work has been just flat out and so I must say that soapmaking was a nice distraction on the weekend and a great smelling way to relax. The full time aspect is still something I am coming to grips with (wish I knew how *normal* people do it!!!) and those acronyms are still beyond me. I am convincing myself that it is geat experience, will look fabbo on my resume and that there are only 8 weeks till holidays.

There is still so much I want to do here on my blog and so many places of interest that I want to link to. I think I need to spend a half day trying to get my head around Draft Blogger and organise this to become more of what I wanted it to be like. Next weekend might just be the time to do it! Back then!

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Missing in action

Since school has restarted I don't think my feet have touched the ground! Not only is my body getting used to the reality of going to work "every" day (as opposed to my part time bliss) but the increased responsibilities have my head spinning. The area that I've moved into for the term is Senior Schooling and of course there is a huge focus on Vocational Education. Voc Ed people tend to communicate in acronyms and there's an awful lot of acronyms for me to get this little head around. Thankfully a public holiday on Monday will help with some much needed catch up time.

I'll be back then after a couple of deep breaths with sunstantially more!

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It's the Sunday before Monday

How quickly this Easter holiday break has flown!! I've managed to cram a fair bit into the week-and-a-bit  we've had and I have really enjoyed catch ups with Jen, Joy, Ali and Margo. I've also done some great reading and of course some soap making too!!

The soap at the top is one that I made up with a combination of nice creamy oils to use as a facial soap. I love washing my face with foamy, bubbly stuff and am hoping that this has a nice lather without the tight squeak at the end if you know what I mean! Only 4 weeks minus one day until I can try and give you the verdict. The soap below smells sensational but unfortunately looks like a slab of meat!! I thought that instead of making a Crock Pot batch that looks like a dried dog turd, that I would add a bit of Red Clay (so good for the skin they say!) for colour. Well I got colour alright. A hell of a lot of colour and to be honest the photo barely shows its true vulgarity!! The boys however think it's much more interesting than the insipid pale ones that had previously been crocked potted and so off to their bathroom it goes LOL!

Lucas has enjoyed his birthday and was beside himself to receive a Wii game he badly wanted as well as a jigsaw puzzle and some new pens for his DS. A lucky boy! It was hot dogs for lunch by his request and then chocolate mud cake for desert mmmmmm. I have never been a big on baking (though would love to be good at it) and so a Woolie's Mud Cake it was and as you can see by these pics it went down a treat! I'm still coming to grips with having a 12 year old!!!

In the morning it will be up and go for the first day of the new school term. I'll be doing this 10 week term full-time and it will be very interesting to see how that goes after so many years of being a part-time kind of gal. I'm stepping in for someone who's offsite working on a district project and thankfully she'll only be a phonecall away as there is a lot to learn about the specifics of her role - I've also found out that in the field of Vocational Education everyone talks in acromyms so there may be just a little head nodding and ah-haaing going on until I get a grip.

There is so much I would like to type about, but so little time .... I'm going to have to make some time to link to the blogs that I've been loving lately - just have to sort out how I want to organise it all here and of course I want to set up some links to some blogs of dear friends too. This week then may be the start of the TO DO LIST! I'll add that all to the list and see how I get on!

Last pic for this post before I go is the thumbs up from Susan Boyle. I've played this clip again today (more than once too) and it still gives me goosebumps and has me in tears. As much as I love her angellic voice, and the fact that she sings with so much passion, I am totally captivated by the looks on the judges faces and how they can't even begin to hide what they really had been thinking. Susan Boyle, you definitely get the double thumbs up from me.

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Happy Birthday Dear Lucas and the amazing Susan Boyle!

How can it be 12 years since I was cradling this gorgeous young man in my arms as a newborn? It amazes me each and everyday how much love my heart has for him (and his brother too of course!) and how proud I am to be his Mum. Now at age 12, Lucas is fine company. He is sensitive, thoughtful, well spoken and absolutely piss-funny! I love all that about him and so much more! As we have completed the first term of his last year at Primary School, I am constantly reminded of how quickly time has flown and undoubtedly how quickly it will continue to pass. I'm also reminded of the need to seize moments - not just the gigantic sizzle and sparkle ones, but the day-to-day memories that make my heart sing when I pause to reflect on them.

Today I was reading Gabbie's blog over at The Soap Dish and you will know if you've read my previous posts that it is her I need to thank for my newfound addiction to making soap. Besides soapy stuff, Gabbie had linked to the Britian, You've Got Talent performance by Susan Boyle. I may be a bit slow on the uptake as I had not seen or heard a thing about her before this. I clicked on the YouTube link to HERE not knowing at all what to expect. Needless to say my reaction was similar to that of millions across the world. I initially saw two of the judges appear a little cyncial and have to admit I assumed they were going to just take the piss out of this woman appearing on their talent show. From the moment she opened her mouth my eyes welled with tears. And then these tears fell as did many more. Susan Boyle has the voice of an angel and what a lesson has been learnt about not judging books by covers. I'm not sure how else to put into words what this footage means to me, but Susan Boyle, Bless you and may your dreams continue to come true.

Tomorrow I shall take a picture of the organisation I have finally managed in the spare room. Tonight I need an early one to be ready for someone turning 12 in the morning!

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2 in, 1 out and some visitors!

Hooray, hooray the boys are home and the sqeezy hugs I received this morning compare with nothing on this Earth. It feels so good and so right to have my babies back under my roof. Already the house is in dissaray and there are boys' things on the floor to trip over, but this is how it is meant to be! We're off to dinner over at Mum and Dad's which will be lovely as I know the rascals have been missed by them too!

So, the two boys come home and the flower farmer goes fishing. A well deserved break and I'm so glad he's getting away from it all for a few days. He and some mates had planned this trip a month or so back, only to have to reschedule due to an impending cyclone off the coast which never eventuated. Someone who works seven days a week, every week, and often 12 + hours a day at that, deserves to go charter fishing whenever he can squeeze the time in. The big hope is that he'll travel home with a styrofoam box full of fish from the sea!

It was brilliant to have a long overdue catch up with Ali, Jack and Cammy today. It has been aaaages since we've had the opportunity and there was, as always, a zillion things to talk about! As you can see from the pics, Lu absolutely adores Cammy and was such a responsible young man playing with Cammy and helping to keep him safe and away from any no-no's.

I was very impressed with Lu's patience and kindness today - he really is a great kid! Cammy loves him back I think and seemed to have a special smile saved for when he spied Lu! Simey and Jack versed each other with Playstation battles. I've no idea who won - that didn't seem important to either of them and it was just two boys hanging out playing games. So good to see.

Thanks Ali for coming up to play. It was as awesome as always to catch up and I can't wait to keep working on our little secret scheme LOL!

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So much rain!

It's still raining here and has been for days now.



It's been a long time since we have had downfalls so persistently heavy like this and the yard is just sodden. The outdoor patio has sprung a leaky roof, everything in the house is damp and starting to mould ... BUT ... I just love the sound of this rain on the roof!! There is a certain flower farmer who can't stand the rain, so as much as I'm loving it, we've probably had enough already!



Q. What to do in the rain?

A. Scrabble, coffee, read, nana-nap, make soap, knit, blog, daydream .........

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Only 2 more sleeps ...

There are only 2 more sleeps until the boys come back and I can barely wait. Although I enjoy the peace and quiet that comes with 'me' time, I miss my two rascals like crazy and hate the extended time away from them. My days have been fairly full though which helps to pass the time and has allowed me to catch up on things around the place.

I went with Jenni to IKEA on Saturday and was stunned by how busy the place was. She was there to pick up a new futon and I just soaked up the gorgeousness of the displays. I love IKEA and their style is always fresh and modern and yet homely too. Lots of lovely little things to look at and sigh over.

Yesterday, Joy came for a Rocky to Brisbane stay-over and she has not long left. It's been fabulous. I love her to bits and always enjoy our catch ups. Wish they were more frequent but love the way she can turn up and we can carry on a conversation that may not have been finished last time!

Of course I've made some more soap too. One lot in the crockpot and here I am looking like a mad scientist in the soap making goggles! It's a sensational look I'm sure.

Brewing away behind me in the crock pot is some soap being made with only olive oil - especially for my gorgeous little godson Max who has a reaction to all types of commercially produced soap.

The boys and I are heading down there Wednesday and so I decided to make this batch in the crock pot so he could use it immediately.

The good news is that it has a very nice, soft and gentle lather and hopefully, with fingers tightly crossed, it will be fine for his delicate skin. The not so good news is that it is as ugly as sin. Too ugly to even photograph LOL! Hideous in fact. I've packaged it all up so I don't have to look at it LOL and have written him a note promising that his next batch will be prettier!

The other batch that I made - using the Cold Process Method - is Rooibos Tea soap. On Saturday night I brewed up some Rooibos tea and cooled it overnight. I used that instead of plain water in the lye mix as Rooibis tea is choc full of anti-oxidants and goodness. I also sprinkled some tea throughout the soap as a bit of an exfolliator and I think it looks rather nice. The photograph doesn't really show how creamy it looks and I'm now waiting, waiting, waiting the four weeks until it cures! Ahhhh that patience thing again!

I've wrapped some up (ok heaps!) for passing friends (Joy and Tanya) but still have a nice little collection sitting on the curing rack as can be seen below. I do love giving things which will be handy considering I am likely to make much more than I can personally use. It's hard not to keep thinking of ideas that I then just itch to want to try. Soap anyone???????????

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Happy Easter .... and some more soap!

The school term flew past unbelievably quickly and with a few dramas too, although the great measles plague of Beerwah does seem ancient news now! Today is Good Friday and I'm still shocked that it's already April! Happy Easter to all!

With the house to myself today (the boys are at their father's until Wednesday) Mum popped over and I gave soap making another go. She helped a lot and only hindered a little! We did one batch by Cold Process method and the second in the crock pot.

Still in its mould, this Coconut soap looks absolutely disgusting though it does smell ok. I love the idea of reusing materials and thought that this empty water bottle would make a great mould. I'm yet to see whether this is the case though.

I did spray it thoroughly with olive oil, but in hindsight I think it's going to be bloody hard to get the soap out of. I may have to saw off the base to get some leverage to push it through. Note to self - keep empty milk cartons for soap moulds and toss empty water bottles for recycling!

This soap was made using a traditonal Cold Pressed method (which actually creates and uses lots of heat so go figure that name!) and when I added the fragrance oil I thought it looked a bit slippery. It is setting to be quite firm and tomorrow when I get to unmould it and slice it ready for 4-6 weeks of curing, I'll have a better idea of whether or not it worked.

This one has no colouring and maybe the clay that was added to my first batch at Christine's was what helped it to look a bit milkier .... and smoother ..... hmmm  ....

Next up, Mum and I cooked up a batch in the crock pot. An email from Gabbie last night encouraged me to give this method a go as once the soap has set and cooled it can basically be used straight away as it is already cooked. Leaving it sit and cure only hardens the bar and is not actually a part of the process. Now, me not being known for patience thought this would be a mighty fine idea.

The method is initially similar but then the soap gets to stay and cook in the crock pot for an hour. An inital huge spewover which saw scalding hot frothing and cooking soap cover half the kitchen (yes my own little mini disaster for the day) had Lynnie (aka Mum) in a bit of a panic and flap but we cleaned up and soldiered on to complete the process. I glopped it into a couple of rectangular moulds - one being a silicone loaf pan. Second note to self - this is not a good idea for a mould either - far too deep and squishy bendy. Anyway it sat and cooled for a bit and I think that I unmoulded and cut it too quickly. There's that patience issue again - a virtue I run short of. In a nutshell this looks like a big heap of grey/pink crap ..... BUT ..... the strawberry champagne fragrance smells utterly divine AND it lathers like a dream - nice and smooth and bubbly. Just might have to shower with eyes closed as it does look quite ugly.

After all that, I'm certainly keen to master the crock pot method. I *think* I have an idea as to why it volcanoed and will tweak the process a litte. I've also decided that I would like to make it a natural colour with just fragrance. I really would rather have a browny/yellowy/creamy neutral colour soap rather than a sludgy grey colour. At least the experimenting was fun!

Thinking of everyone on the road this Easter - have a safe one!

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You just have to love a freebie!

For a long time now, I have been on the quest for a decent skin care range. I've sensitive skin which can amble along quite nicely with any particular product range for a while and then #BANG# a sudden and unexpected reaction will have me breaking out in itchy, splotchy rashes. It's quite unpredictable and consequently I tend to be the queen of lotions and potions with a bathroom cupboard groaning under the weight of products tried and tested. It drives me quite spare.

A while ago now, I stumbled across and Australian company - Langlois - which produces a range of Olive Oil based skin care products at a reasonable price. Although I have found their facial soap a little bit too harsh, their moisturisers are wonderful and I've been using them now for almost 2 months with no problems. They sell on-line through their website, their products are natural with no nasties and their customer service fabulous. As far as I'm concerned, that's a lot of my boxes ticked!

A few weeks ago they sent an email surveying customers about preferred fragrance for a line of haircare products they are producing. There was the promise of a free product for the first however many people responded. I emailed a response becuase I like their existing product and their service - always happy to help! Fast forward to today when this was in my mailbox waiting - a full size 50g tube of Eye Cream to thank me for my response! I'd forgotten all about it so was chuffed with the surprise! Thanks Langlois!!!

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Ta-daaaaaaaaaa and it smells divine!

Yesterday's inaugural soap making adventure had its great unveiling this afternoon!

All day I looked forward to coming home from work to remove my block of soap from the milk carton! Not entirely sure what to expect, it was a bit of a challenge to remove it from the mould - no reuse of that carton!! - but once out it sliced sooooo easily and smoothly. I love the chunky squarish shape that the milk carton mould gave it and I also love how my cutting is uneven, or should I say "rustic"!

The fleckly speckly bits that can be seen are dried Calendula petals - apparently a good, gently exfoliator and nice for the skin. Orange Essential Oil and Lemon Essential Oil were combined and so the soap has a lovely fresh zingy smell. Mmmmmm all that handmade goodness and now only 4-6 weeks to wait until we can use it.

The bottom photo shows my soap drying system. Can't wait until that little trolley is chock full of some more delicious, bubbly soap!

On an aside, I've had a couple of people say that they have been unable to leave a comment here! Bum.

I've done some tweaking and fiddling and think I have the issue sorted. If you could please give commenting a try, I'd be very appreciative in case I need to delve further into the problem!!

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I've been caught hook, line and sinker!

On my Words, Words, Words blog I not so long ago posted about the joys of showering with beautiful handmade soap from the very talented Gabbie over at The Soap Dish. I've fallen head over heels in love with Gabbie's soaps and I've fallen hard. I've given some away to friends to spread the joy, but of course I've stocked up for me too and I just luuurve them. Now, Gabbie is an artist - she is a mindblowing website designer, talented scrapbooker, stunning cardmaker, delicious candle creator and the concoctor of the awesome soaps I have become addicted to and they are indeed a work of art in their own right. This though has led me to now wanting to make everyday bath and shower soaps for me and the boys.

Gabbie what have you done???? I think a monster has been created! Thanks to soapmaking links found on The Soap Dish and soapmaking books borrowed from the library I have found myself immersed in a new world of oils, lye and saponification. This googling and reading then led me to Christine from Glasshouse Handmade Products who today gave me a lesson in making cold pressed soap! It was even more interesting and fun than I thought it was going to be, if that's possible, and I came home with a milk carton full of soap! Tomorrow it will have cured long enough for me to unwrap and slice it and of course take some pics to show it off.

I don't ever see myself making stunningly gorgeous soaps like Gabbie's - sigh - I'm just not that creative, talented or that way inclined. I'm sure that all of her beautiful soap will continue to seduce me though and I do still look forward to ordering it and having it land in my postbox (speaking of which she has a great value offer of a free soap slice for new customers so head on over!!!). I am however looking forward to lots of playing around with fats and oils and smells to make some big chunky cakes of soap for family and friends. I'll be back tomorrow to unveil the first made lot, so fingers crossed it sets well!

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Simple Savings Bargain!

Becoming a single mother a few years ago and falling from a double income to a single was a real financial learning curve for me. Before the children I had rarely had money concerns. After divorce it seemed I always had money conerns. From that though has come many lessons in better budgeting, a more frugal lifestyle and resisting unnecessary consumption. I've also discovered that there is a huge difference in being careful with your money and being a tightarse and I certainly want to be the former. There are so so many resources on the internet about budgeting and saving and living more simply. A great Australian resource is Simple Savings. There is much of the site that is free to view but a membership subscription allows access to many more ideas for reducing household expenditure and living more economically. Some very sound advice considering the world's current economic state. The good news is that there is a savings on membership fees this week and the joining price has been dropped from $47 to $33. I've been a member now for almost a month and feel that already I have earnt value for my joining dollar. If you go to check it out, let me know what you think!

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Simplifying and condensing

Many of my friends and acquaintances would know, that for many moons now I have been voraciously reading books, blogs, websites and articles about simplifying life. Uncomplicating things. Decluttering my physical, emotional and mental places - something long overdue. I've been learning a lot. My life is evolving, and so is the need I feel to share what I am learning and to document my journey and yep that's why the header picture here features the symbolic road. Just a reminder to me that I'm journeying on a road that is as long as the eye can see and that one step at a time, one foot in front of the other is the only way to go.
In this quest for simplicity and all things easier and streamlined it seemed then silly to maintain more than one blog. Words, Words, Words was established as a place to record the rants, raves and ramblings of day-to-day life and, seriously, I think that I can do that here! My Year of Non-Consumerism was intended as a place to document a full 12 months of non-consuming. Well now with that one, things have changed. No, I haven't given up and morphed into a rabid consumer of all things unnecessary. I am cautious of every spent cent. I have to be. I have just come to realise that what is more important - to me right now - is to be sensible and frugal with my resources. As an example, I have bought some clothes which were not second hand and from an op shop, although I still scour op shops given any opportunity. However each and every garment was on sale at a greatly reduced price and offered value for money. Feeling good about myself, in something reasonably fashionable, at a value for cash price has outweighed my plan to not purchase new and I can live with that and I am still committed to consuming less. Those two blogs will stay there for the time being, unposted on, and I guess I will then either import posts of importance to here or delete them entirely.
Enough of an introduction for now. I'm off to format this properly and will be back to post later. It feels nice already to have this as a new home!

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