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Last weekend I had to bevel and trim over a hundred bars of soap. It's a good thing I love my little beveler, because it took a loooong time and there were soap shavings everywhere. I made a bunch of new soaps too, including Sanguigno Orange Patchouli, Polar Express, Calabrian Violet and Bergamot, Coconut Lime Verbena and Marigold Mint. Mmmmmm.

I'm on the Etsy Front Page

For a few brief, shining hours this afternoon, my Oatmeal Milk and Honey soap was on the front page of Etsy. My views jumped a couple hundred in that time period. I did a screen shot as a memento! :D

Happy Easter!

Plumeria Handmade Soap

The last of my new ones for a while, I've just added Plumeria Handmade Soap to my shop.

I spent the morning making lots of soap to crank up my inventory -- more Calabrian Violet and Bergamot and Coconut Lime Verbena. They both have colorful swirls in them. While I consider myself kind of swirl-impaired, I think I'm getting better and better at it. The ones I made this morning look pretty good!

My son has been sick with a really high fever the last few days. Lying about groaning, sleeping and taking Advil while mom and dad run around making cream soups and pumping him full of liquids. His girlfriend invited him to camp out in the back yard with her family last night so guess what? Of course he had a miraculous recovery. Unfortunately it was so cold last night that I think they all ended up dragging their camping stuff into the house and sleeping in the living room.

White Peach Handmade Soap

I've just added White Peach handmade soap to my shop too. It took a bunch of trials to find a peach that didn't smell like cheap room freshener or candy or something. This smells like the real deal, just like a juicy, ripe peach.

I've been taking some late afternoon photos of my Plumeria soap out by the lily pond. The light is so golden and perfect this time of day, light enough to look great but not so bright that it makes a glare on the white parts of the soap.

Mandarin Coriander Soap

New in my shop today, Mandarin Coriander handmade soap. It smells so fresh and herbal-y, a very apothecary-style fragrance. And it has pretty orange and green swirls.

Next I have to take some photos of the Peach soap so I can get them into the store too.

Breathtaking Nerve

You know, I try not to get worked up too much about copyright violations, but this is just too egregious to ignore. Someone has stolen my Mermaid Garden and Seashore soap photos and product descriptions. Yeah, she's selling my soap with my photos and my descriptions, and for 75 cents less per bar than I sell it! She has registered the domain with a phoney email, address and phone number. But I'm on to her and have submitted a formal complaint to GoDaddy, who hosts the site. So have a whole bunch of other soapmakers whose work she's stolen.

You just have to wonder sometimes, about the balls some people have. What does this moron think will happen when people order soap and it doesn't look anything like my photos? People who do things like this have an unqualified optimism that no one will ever notice and a belief that the rules don't apply to them. They are usually the first ones to whine about other people violating their rights. Hopefully this person's site will be taken down when the complaints are all evaluated. At least long enough for the asshat to get another web site and do it again.

**Edited to say that all of the copyrighted material, including mine, has been taken down.**

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

If you're a woman, there's a 1 in 9 chance that you'll end up with breast cancer someday. That's something to think about, seriously. One of my dearest friends recently went through a terrible time with breast cancer, including debilitating chemotherapy and loss of all of her hair. Thankfully, she is alive and recovering well. Fighting breast cancer is a cause dear to my heart.

KelliRene, who has KelliRene Designs on Etsy, is raising funds for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. We all know someone who has fought this terrible disease, and some who haven't won the fight. I've made a donation to sponsor her walk. Others, notably in the Etsy Green and Clean Guild, are donating part of their shop earnings to this cause. I'm impressed by KelliRene's determination and spirit. I hope you will consider making a donation to her walk too.

Yesterday I began tweaking my 3D character, Mitsouko. Here's a little peek at how she's shaping up.

Very early tomorrow morning my 18 year old daughter is leaving for New York City to march with her high school band in the St. Patrick's Day Parade. The kids won't be back until Tuesday night. I'm excited for her, but 4 days away from home seems so long. I guess it's good preparation for when she goes off to college in the fall, but I don't like it. :(

More Faeries

I'm having so much fun playing with Sadie, this cute little 3D character. A very talented woman, TamiL, made an adorable princess dress for her. I just had to try it out and do a few renders. Is this too sweet for words, or what?

Today was a major goofing off day for me. I just didn't feel like doing anything, so I didn't. Just sat around working with Poser and watching cooking shows.

Speaking of which, a new cooking store opened in a shopping center near me. I finally got over there and felt like I'd gone to cook's heaven. Everything you've ever seen on Food Network and more! I got a self-cleaning garlic press, a mini-plane for zesting and grating nutmegs, a really nice vegetarian cookbook and a couple of little melmac snack plates. You don't want to know how much that little excursion set me back, but it sure was fun!

Cioccalata e Arance Soap

This is the soap I blogged about recently, the one with indecent amounts of undeodorized cocoa butter, jojoba, avocado and sweet almond oils, and real chocolate! It's finally ready to go and Cioccalata e Arance (Chocolate Orange) is in my shop. Honestly, it smells so good I have to resist taking a bite of it.

It occurred to me today that I'm at that age when buying an entire book called "The Miracle of Magnesium" for $14.95 seems like an excellent idea. So is going out and buying magnesium at the health food store, then allowing it to live on the kitchen windowsill with all the other vitamins and health supplements my DH and I take. Everyone I know has a kitchen windowsill loaded with this kind of stuff!

Our daughter is going to New York City with her band this weekend. They are spending 4 days in NYC, marching in the St. Patrick's Day parade. These kids are going to get to see The Blue Man Group (second time for her), Spamalot on Broadway, visit Times Square, BB Kings Blues Club & Grill, do a walking tour of Ground Zero, go to the Top of the Rock observation deck, see Tribeca, Little Italy, Greenwich Village and Chinatown, Radio City Music Hall and appear on CBS's The Early Show on Tuesday morning, 3/18/08! This is quite a trip for these young people! I've been to New York before and I haven't done anything except go to the Empire State Building.

I made a video!

When Crafting Goes Wrong

This is what happens. Sorry, I just don't see a big future for these.

Pink Grapefruit

Brand new in my shop on Etsy, Pink Grapefruit handmade soap. This is a limited edition soap, very pretty with pink soap "confetti" distributed throughout the soap and decorating it on top, with just a kiss of white gold mica to make it even prettier. And the fragrance, mmmmm....tart and sweet and mouthwateringly pink grapefruit!

I've been on a soaping tear the last few days and have made more than you can shake a stick at. The White Peach and Mandarin Coriander are curing, along with the Oatmeal, Milk and Honey, Caribbean Dreams, Coffee Caramel and Red Clover Tea. My office smells fantastic.

My 17 year old son has acquired a girlfriend. He's hung back and been reluctant to get into a relationship because of some bad experiences he's seen his friends have, but I think Cupid's arrow finally found him. We met her today and she is a lovely girl -- cute, smart, loves the outdoors, isn't afraid of snakes, and she is head over heels for Geoffrey. This is a bittersweet moment for me as a mom.

Spearmint Eucalyptus Soap

It's finally done curing, my Spearmint Eucalyptus soap is now in my shop. It smells soooo good, fragranced with essential oils. It's mildly minty, so it's not going to sting your naughty bits. ;->

I got an order of fragrance oils the other day with some wonderful new ones I can't wait to soap! I have Sanguigno Orange and Patchouli, White Peach and Mandarin Coriander. They all smell fantastic. I hardly know which one to soap first, but I'm leaning toward the White Peach.

27 Years!

Yesterday was our 27th anniversary! We went out to lunch at a new Vietnamese restaurant and had some fabulous, light dishes, including Lemongrass Chicken. And coconut ice cream too! Then home for a quiet nap. For dinner I made the Barefoot Contessa's Macaroni and Cheese for Grownups and OMG, it is to die for. I got us slender little slices of chocolate covered key lime cheesecake for dessert.

This year instead of buying each other anniversary gifts, we decided to just blow a wad on something for the house. We got a big, beautiful deep brown leather recliner for the living room. It's so big it's like settling down into the mother ship. Of course this will primarily be "mama's chair," but I'll let the rest of them sit in it sometimes. :D

Today I made a bunch of Oatmeal, Milk and Honey soap, I was totally out of it. Then our new rescue dog, Libby, found some possum poop in the back yard and rolled in it. I mean all over, even her head stunk. I had the honor of cleaning up the little princess in the shower.

And finally this -- Our 18 year old daughter returned from her overnight trip to Miami with 5 friends to attend Marley Fest. No disasters, the hotel reservation worked smoothly, she didn't run out of money and (only half kidding) no one was arrested. What more can a mother ask for?