If only you could smell it...

"Smell what?" you may ask...

My soap, naturally.

From left to right:



Jasmine (made with fragrance oil)
Pina Colada/ lemongrass (made with a fruit-based all natural fragrance oil and essential oil)
Mint Mojito (made at a soaplab at The Nova Studio using Lori Nova's recipe and essential oils)
Sweet Orange and Cranberry Seed (using essential oil)
Cedarwood, Fir and Rosemary (using essential oil)

My house smells like a hippy grocery store. The soap should be ready in time for Christmas. In the coming week I'll be experimenting with hot process soapmaking which should speed up the cure time. Next on the agenda---shaving soap, shampoo bars and at Whoozyerdaddy's request "something that smells like marzipan". I'll also be making some salt scrubs, some belly butter (for my preggo friends), something to ease my MIL's arthritis, some wrinkle balm,whipped body butter and lip balm. If anyone wants me to make some gifts on their behalf please let me know at allsoapedup@gmail.com and we can work on something for you.

Also---I just made a kick-ass bolognese using a hybrid of a Mario Batali recipe and what I had in the pantry. Why do I always make meatsauce the same way? Foodie lesson of the day---don't get caught in a rut--EXPERIMENT! To my preggo friend Shaken Mama--Call me, you'll want some of this:

Holy Crap, People!

All I can say is you better like your Christmas presents. I'm MAKING them this year...

And boy am I tired.

Ethical Shopping versus Financial Survival

I think you guys have known this about me; I have had my proverbial panties in a wad for years now. Corporate America is evil and money-grubbing and has undermined the foundation that We the People have built--small business, the mommas and the poppas of retail, the American Gothic-esque farms. As a result, I have tried to support the little guy. I have tried to put things on or in my body and the bodies of my dear family that are healthy, organic and natural.

But--IT IS KICKING MY ASS!!!! And I am falling for Walmart. Cheap, cheap Walmart. Mason jars and bamboo paper towel holders are there just for the inexpensive taking. Friends, please talk me down. And China---people are losing their jobs in China, too. It's a GLOBAL economy, right? Right? I should care about the jobless in China too. Or perhaps we no longer vote with our wallets.

A Mermaid and a Sock Monkey Walk into a bar...

I mean obviously--NOT, right? Mermaids have fins, no? One doesn't walk with fins. OK---so the sock monkey and the mermaid are not of age--a minor (no pun intended) detail in this age of advanced technology.

I do want to touch upon one SMALL detail. Check out Whoozyerkid's fantabulous handmade costume that I got on Etsy. The skin-colored leotard DID NOT come with it. And the child model on the Etsy product page sported her own bikini top sans bodysuit.The back of the top cinches like a corset. What mom dresses her four-year-old as a hoochie-mermaid on All-Hallow's Eve? Not I.

A Little Tidbit.

It was family reunion time at the Coloma Country Inn last weekend. The fall leaves were out and my aunts and uncles and a couple of cousins were there--mostly from Central and Southern California soaking in the colors of a Northern Californian October. Whoozyerdaddy and I also got out for a rare date to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary during which I got to remember in the midst of all of the choas that is our lives right now that I love that man, he makes me laugh.



My mom and Aunt C don't remember exactly which bed it was but apparently in a moment of desperation whilst touring Hearst Castle their guide gave them the nod to slip off silently and change my diaper on one. They left the group, a blowout requiring my mom's immediate attention while Aunt C went along for support (I'm thinking, more, the lookout!). Really, my bare little (at the time) booty touched rich brocade draped on a bed transported from Versailles where perhaps even King Louis XIV once snoozed---or upon where maybe, just maybe Marie Antoinette uttered "Let them eat cake."

Incredible Cuteness

S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G

Whoozyerdaddy and I had a conversation almost entirely in spelling this evening. Whoozyerkid, who isn't even 4 yet, having heard and sponged the whole conversation said "Mom, you guys are being C-R-A-P-P-Y".

Time for pig Latin...

This may seem odd to some of you but I'm shouting out to the universe for my techie-homie.

My friend "R" reads my blog and I don't want to call him at work seeing as he works for one of those stressed out agencies bailed out recently. I don't seem to have his email anywhere. He's just somewhere in the cyberworld and I need him. My computer is pulling some crazy stunts and he can tell me WTF it won't restart or download new programs or do Windows update or make me a martini. "R" --call me babe. Mama needs you.

Whoozyermama's First Soap...

This was a quick photo taken at night of MY FIRST SOAP because--dammit---that's the only time I have right now.

Well folks, so far I have made three batches of soap and I haven't burned my face off!!!! Thank God. I really love having a face. It works for me. I am enjoying my newfound role as Whoozyersoapmistress---lurking down to the basement, donning goggles, gloves, sweatshirt and pants, calf-length Costco shearling boots and respect for the "VIP". Lori Nova, my teacher and soap sensei likens lye to a Very Important Person (I imagine a volatile pimp)at a dating party. You handle the VIP with kid-gloves, you make sure there is a surplus of interesting and attractive dates for him at the party (more oil than the lye can saponify). You combine the oil and lye and you stir with a stick blender until the mixture resembles a light custard. You then mix in any scent and color and oh-so-carefully-because-you-like-having-a-face pour the fragrant mixture into a lined mold. You wrap your raw soap in old blankets "putting the party to bed" to mingle and synergize and then harden. 24 hours later you loosen the block of soap from the mold and cut it into bars. In a couple of days you can trim it up and make it pretty. About 5 weeks later you have a lathering bar, a keepsake from the party in the basement. Which beats a battered lampshade any day.

Hey Whoozyerbaby!!!!!

"Are you coming after Mama?" I asked.

"Yeah." said Whoozyerbaby.

And I have a witness. Whoozyerbabysitter II heard the same thing. She is equally amazed and astounded. "No effing way! Did she really say that?" I asked. "Uh huh" affirmed the sitter, eyes wide.


In other news check out Whoozyerbaby's fabulous, adorable, cute new tooth that has already more than grazed my nipple.