P Is For...

Perfect gifts! I had a wonderful Christmas yesterday, and I hope you all did too. I just wanted to show off a little bit:) I didn't ask for anything in particular because I don't need anything (but I want EVERYTHING!) There were a lot of surprises under my tree this year like a Garmin GPS (Somehow I think this will be both a blessing and a curse....), and a

Flip Video Camcorder (That means more videos-good ones though!)


But the ones that meant more to me than anything were all the monogram (ok, single-letter) doodads my sister bought me. I l-o-v-e these washcloths. I absolutely needed some dedicated face cloths, and these came at just the right moment! You can never go wrong with note cards and sticky notes. I'm famous for writing notes-just because....

I look forward to playing with all my gadgets. I have a feeling I'll be doing a lot of traveling now-just because...

Merry Christmas!!!

It's the most won-der-ful time of the year! Merry Christmas to all my friends who celebrate Christmas! I hope you spend this time with those you love and who love you back. Eat lots of good food and drink lots of good drink.

I'm looking forward to spending the day with my family getting stuffed and tanked while singing bad karaoke and talking about our best gift and the gift most likely to be re-gifted (yes, I do re-gift.) I'll be seeing you....

You Can't Judge A Soap By It's Cover

(The soap looks real jagged because I haven't yet trimmed it.)

You know if I'm saying this that the soap is jacked up right? This aint the prettiest soap, but it smells like a slice of sweet cake just baked from the oven. I scented it in Vanilla Bean, and I wanted it to have some white swirls because you know it's going to get darker as it cures. It reminds me of a tiramisu almost. I want to bite into it-seriously!



I used an old wooden box that I got a few years back from the White Barn Candle Co. My regular recipe is only about 3.5 pounds, and this box could easily hold about 5 pounds. CPOP'ed again. Can't wait to use this one....

The Reason For The Season

Sometimes we lose sight of what Christmas is all about. It's about celebrating the life of Jesus Christ, but somehow it's turned into this mass media frenzy, and I usually get caught up in the hype. I don't know what happened to me this year, but my perspective has changed considerably. While I love receiving gifts (and not just at Christmas, but all year round!), I love giving them even more. I cannot imagine not having basic necessities like enough food to eat or clean water to drink. I always ask myself "What can I do to make a difference" or "I'm just one person. My efforts would be futile."

Then I thought that a lot of people must have these same thoughts, but if we all pool our resources together, we can really make a difference. I found this site called Kiva. Kiva's mission is "to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty." How it works is you make loans for as little as $25.00 to low-income entrepreneurs all over the world. Most of these aspiring business owners aren't in it to get rich. They're in business to feed their communities, to save them from disease, or to just be able to live a safe and comfortable life. How profound is that? There was no way I could not get involved, and I tell you that my heart is bursting in just knowing that I've contributed in some way-however small.

I made my first loan to a woman named Suli who lives in Uganda. She runs a small grocery store in her community, and she's using her loan to purchase food and supplies. She has five children (whew!) and hopes to be able to grow her business and educate her children. Now what hardworking mother anywhere doesn't want that for their family?

Remember, tis the season for giving-no matter how large or how small. I wish I could give of my time and money to every worthy cause....

No Cookies For Santa

This year, I'm leaving jolly ole St. Nick some soap. He's jumping down dirty chimneys, and you know he's probably stinking all to be damned from wearing that heavy, felted wool suit. Just kidding, I just wanted a cheeky intro for my latest soap and to show a piece of my tree. Yeah, it's hot pink. I love this little tree. My sister bought it for me two years ago in an effort to cheer me up. It didn't help at the time, but it's doing the job nicely now:)

My latest soap is cpop again and, it's made with all essential oils-patchouli, sweet orange, lime, and a pinch of peppermint. I don't have a name yet, but I love the pattern of the orange. They remind me of flames for some reason...

Now that I'm cpop-ing up a storm, I'll be making lots and lots of soap. Til next time...