Simply McGhie

Shamrocks in February

2012-02-01T14:59:00.000-08:00

shamrocks spring 2011

It's the 1st of February and things are looking towards spring. I've got seeds started for Brussels Sprouts (with other seeds started soon) and as I was cleaning out planters at the side of our house I noticed that the shamrocks I planted last year and had died during the summer, have come back to life and are blooming their beautiful white flowers. I'm a person who tries to hold onto winter for as long as I can because I know that after winter, summer eventually comes (I am not a hot weather person). For some reason however, I'm excited about this spring. Maybe excited is not the right word, but I'm in full scale "prepare" mode because I know something is coming. I can't even tell you if it's good or bad but that I've got this urge to prepare. It's almost like what happens to me when I'm nesting. But I'm not. . . honestly I'm not (just in case you were wondering.)

Part of that preparation has been in the form of learning how to do new things frugally. I'm trying to become as self reliant as a mountain girl stuck in the city can get. One of those things has been cloth wipes. "What? You cloth diaper but you don't cloth wipe?" You are asking. I know. I know. But I was in the middle of cutting up scraps of old T-shirts to try out homemade (Clorox type) wipes for cleaning things with (not bottoms) and as I was doing that I thought to myself, "Why am I willing to try these homemade cleaning wipes and I'm not willing to try the cloth diaper wipes?" It just didn't make sense to me why I would do that so I pulled out my scrap flannel and cut up some cloth wipes and gave them a try (spray bottle method). And the verdict? Love the cloth wipes (so does Baby Boy's bottom) but hate the homemade cleaning wipes. I think for now I'll stick to my trusted Clorox wipes.

In my quest for frugality, I came across a web site that I've fallen in love with. It's called "One Good Thing" and I think you will really enjoy it too. Some of the things she shares seem a little overboard or impractical but I've loved a lot of her ideas. So here you go. One Good Thing

Ok, good bye for now. I've probably sent you all into overload by posting two days in a row. Now it's off to the farmers market for me.

Happiness Is. . .

2012-01-31T13:29:00.000-08:00

A Snowy Shaver Lake

2012-01-28T20:28:00.000-08:00

Today after we'd been out to the vineyard (well Bryce and Kyle) and I'd done mounds of laundry, we decided to do something fun and went up to Shaver Lake. Shave Lake has just recently been drained in order to make upgrades/repairs to the dam and so this was the first time in my life time, and I've lived up there my whole life, that I'd gotten to see what the bottom of Shaver Lake looked like. Now true, snow is covering everything, but it really was a neat and beautiful thing to see.

In this picture you can see both the old dam that has been under water for many many years and the "new" dam that they have been making repairs to. I wish I knew more of the history of Shaver Lake especially since I'd lived in the area my whole life but I'm at least grateful that I had the opportunity to see a little of that history.

This Girl's Experience with the Blackout: Internet Censorship

2012-01-18T19:36:00.000-08:00

Today has been an interesting day for me. It started at 5:30am when after doing my morning scripture study I fired up my computer to start working on my book. An e-mail popped up from the soaping forum I belong to telling me I had a message on one of the forums I posted to. When I went to look at it I received another message telling me that the site was shut down today because they were on strike against internet censorship. I thought to myself, "fine, I'll just look at it later," and then I went to work on my book.

Well, about an hour later I was deep into the outline for the next couple sequences that I'll be writing in my book and I needed to look up a term to make sure that I was using it correctly. My usual desktop dictionary that I love to use also has a Wikipedia link where you can do a little more research on the term that you are searching and it just so happens that I desperately needed that function this morning. Now before I go any further, I will point out that I do know I can go to other sites to search for things and I can even crack open an actual encyclopedia but let's face it. . . I was in a hurry and Wikipedia is just so convenient. So when I went there, the above picture is what I got.

Ok, so I was a little annoyed. I enjoy my free speech rights and I am against censorship but I know about the SOPA (H.R. 3261) and the Protect IP Act (Senate Bill 968) and I didn't need someone to be shoving it down my throat (which actually is their right because of the First Amendment of the constitution)

Well, because I do like to be an informed citizen and not just follow the whims of what is popular, I swallowed the bait and started some reading. I read articles on what people were saying about it. I went to the Drudge Report. I went to the local radio talk show's web site to see if anyone was talking about it there. I read the summaries of the bills. And then after reading these things, I tried to go back to my day and live my life.

Then it came up again.

I went to check on my etsy shop and support for the blackout was there. It didn't interfere with my ability to work, but it was still there reminding me of the possibilities that could happen if these things pass. I went to look something up on Google and their logo was blacked out giving their support. And then, just for kicks, I checked out a number of other sites that I frequently go to and with the exception of the site for my bank and a government operated site for filing my business sales taxes with them, all were showing their support in one form or another for the blackout and against censorship of the internet.

I think that they accomplished something. "They," the large number of sites that I frequent and have come to rely upon, accomplished disrupting my day and grudgingly getting me to think more about SOPA and the Protect IP Act. Bravo. Well played. But will it be enough? I wonder sometimes if people are making "much ado about nothing," because supposedly it wouldn't effect the regular common people like me who express my opinions through a blog or any other regular forms of internet activity. But then I also have to think about this. . . where would it stop? If "they," the government, can regulate what sites are allowed to operate or what shows up in search engines, then what else in the name of "the greater good" would they then begin to regulate? These bills aren't about the censorship of the people per say, but it could be a very dangerous start.

How about this, instead of censoring the internet, or anything for that matter, why not just go after the people who commit the crime? I know that some of the guilty are in other countries, so work with those countries to stop acts of piracy or other thefts of intellectual property. I know this is all easier said then done but there has to be a way of handling this situation without it ultimately leading to internet censorship in the end.

Our first amendment right to free speech is not something we should take for granted. This right is one of the fundamental things that makes the United States of America such a wonderful place to be. And it's not just the right to free speech but every other right granted to us in the constitution. It's our duty as American citizens to protect these rights and I believe that our freedom of speech is the tool by which we are able to protect our rights and help to make the country, and world a better place. So stand up and pay attention to what's happening not just with SOPA and the Protect IP Act, but with everything. We should never become so apathetic or lazy that we let our great country be taken from us and we should never, ever give up any bit of our right to speak our own minds.

Little Boy Drawings: Daddy

2012-01-11T10:52:00.000-08:00

Here is another Little Boy drawing to add to the archives. He did this one all by himself and it is a picture of his daddy fighting a monster with a sword and shield with mountains in the background. I think it's cute how Daddy is the hero.

Clearance Items

2012-01-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

Most of the items in my shop are 50% off now and will remain so until they are gone. I'm just trying to make room for all the new soaps that I will have coming up soon so it's a great opportunity for you to get some of your favorite soaps at a great price. Just take a trip over to my shop and see what you might like. If you are a local, use the code: local2u for free shipping. This code is for in person deliver/pick up only.

Not all soaps pictured are still available and more sale items are included then are pictured here.

Hello. . . It's the McGhies

2012-01-04T15:38:00.000-08:00

I would say that I'm shocked that I let a whole month pass by without posting on this blog but in reality the time went by so quickly and we were so incredibly busy that it's really not all that surprising. Between a craft show, holiday sales, custom orders, multiple post office trips, Holiday parties, school Christmas programs, finals, laundry, holiday cooking, Christmas shopping, wrapping, packing, delivering goodie plates, getting sick (still sick), driving up to Washington and back as well as the countless other items I forgot to mention, we... have... been... swamped! But that's ok. Aside from the getting sick part we have had a really enjoyable time.

We stayed home for Christmas this year which is the first time doing so for our family. Even though it was very nice and relaxing to actually be home for Christmas, Christmas day was somewhat hectic and frustrating for me. Ok, so really it was the getting kids ready for church and then sacrament meeting that was hectic. We were actually late to church for the first time ever. I am a punctual person and that morning everything just seemed to prevent us (me and the kids) from getting there on time including being short a car seat.

Once there at church and in an empty seat (not our usual spot), the kids started a brawl while the sacrament was being passed. They NEVER do that. Full out hitting and yelling. And yes, or course Bryce was sitting up on the stand and there was no one sitting with me to help. I felt like hiding under the pew. Help did come eventually. When I had to get up to play the piano for the Primary kids to sing, wonderful Megan Cluff swooped in help. (THANK YOU MEGAN!) After the primary children sang, I spoke for a little bit on my testimony of the Savior's birth, and then spent the rest of the meeting out in the foyer with all three kids who just did not want to get along. Since church was just an hour long on Christmas, I ended up going back home feeling drained and frustrated. I don't wish away the days but I do look forward to the time when I can actually get something out of church again. We went home and I cooked Christmas dinner for the family and the missionaries. We had a very enjoyable time and the day ended up being very nice.

The next day we drove up to Zillah, Washington to visit our friends the Iversons. It was a very, very long drive but worth it. The Iversons are our closest friends and we hadn't seen them since they moved up to Washington about six months ago. It was almost as if no time had passed and I think we spent every night except one playing games and staying up way too late. While there we went to Toppinesh, Granger, Tri-Cities (???) and Yakima. Bryce got to see the Columbia River Temple, and we also got to visit the Yakima Cultural Center (I think that is what it is called). We spent a week up there and actually just got home yesterday at 3:30am.

Well I may do another Zillah post, especially to explain the above picture, but for now I'm going to call this good. I've got more laundry to do (go figure hu?).

Uncharacteristic Silence

2011-12-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

I am sorry to all my loyal blog followers. I have been uncharacteristically silent here. There are several reasons for that:

1. I made more soap then I was selling and so ran out of ingredients. I didn't want to buy more ingredients until I sold some more so that meant that I wasn't sharing with all of you my fun creations. I'm sorry. But does this help?

These are moisturizing vanilla bath salts with rose and calendula flowers. Each ornament is the perfect amount for a bath. I still need to put the ribbons and tags on these but you get the idea. I also made some purple lavender bath salts and some spearmint and tea tree oil foot soaks. The lavender and foot soaks I can make more of but the vanilla I can't make more of until I order some more vanilla fragrance oil. Once these are gone, they will probably be gone for the season. They are perfect for the tree (though they would probably be pretty heavy for hanging), as stocking stuffer, office gifts, Christmas gifts, or for yourself because you deserve it during the hectic holiday season.

2. I have been getting ready for a holiday boutique that is coming up this Saturday. It will be at Foothill Elementary School in Prather, California staring at 9am till I think 3pm. I'm not sure on the ending time. I still have a tone of work to do for that and my etsy shop will be closed that day so that I don't over sell on something by accident.

3. When I haven't been working on soap stuff, house stuff, and kids stuff I have been working on writing stuff. My book is coming along very well. I am up to 59,501 words with so much more to go. This of course isn't including all of my hand written notes, character developments, story diagrams, brain storming, history writing, world building, etc. I am just so lucky that I have an absolutly amazing husband who supports me 100% on this.

To go along with this I have also been doing a lot of reading. I'll spare you the long list of books that I have been reading.

4. Family has got me pretty busy but in a very good way. My baby boy has turned one year old and we celebrated it on Thanksgiving Day. We did the traditional mini chocolate cake for him to dig into. He love it!

Well that's all I can talk about right now. I'll update in a little while and tell you how the boutique went. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Little Boy Drawings: Bad Guy

2011-11-23T07:37:00.000-08:00

Here is another one of Little Boy's drawings.

He calls this one "Bad Guy."

Here is the last one that I posted in June. You can really see his improvement.
LITTLEBOYDRAWINGS

Sunshine

2011-11-19T10:09:00.000-08:00

Would you believe that this precious little ray of sunshine is going to be one year old tomorrow? That's right! One year old. He has truly filled our lives with joy. I am grateful for the blessing I have of being his mommy.

Here's another ray of sunshine in my life. She has grown so much. She is so smart too. She is also a social butterfly and mommy's little helper.

And this little man who is growing up so fast, always makes life fun. . . and frustrating at times too. He is a wonderful little guy who is a good example to his siblings and classmates. I think he may just be his teacher's favorite too even though teachers don't have favorites ;-)

I love my little family. I just wish I could freeze time to keep them from growing up.

Bryce Met Brandon Sanderson!!!!

2011-11-12T12:17:00.000-08:00

As a lot of you know, I am a writer. I will one day, maybe even very soon, be a published author. (Yes that is determination that you are reading there :-) So why am I running a soap business? Good question. I'll get back to you on that one. Anyway because of my love of the written word, I do a lot of reading. I even got my husband into reading. He hated it growing up because he never was able to read books that he enjoyed. He always had to read what the teachers told him to read. Over the last few years we both have come to love the works of Brandon Sanderson. He really came to our attention when he was asked to complete the Wheel of Time series that was written by Robert Jordan, another highly beloved author of mine. Since reading the first book of the WoT series that Brandon worked on (The Gathering Storm) I have become interested in his work. Since then I have read the Mistborn Trilogy, The Way of Kings, and am currently reading Elantris. His writing is so phenomenal. It really makes me wish that I could take a writing class from him (oh, I forgot to mention that he taught/teaches at BYU).

Anyway, as it so happens, Bryce was down in the Southern California Area for work and Brandon Sanderson was scheduled to do a book signing in Huntington Beach for his newly released book, The Alloy of Law. Do I even have to mention how excited I was when Bryce texted me and told me he was thinking about going? Think silly, giddy school girl about to see their most favorite actor in person. Yeah that was me. And I wasn't even the one who was going! When Bryce got there Brandon was doing a little Q&A and Bryce was texting me a play by play the whole time. It was so much fun. Then he got to meet him. . .

They talked for a little bit and Bryce was telling him how I was a writer and then. . .

I talked to Brandon Sanderson ON THE PHONE!

Ok, yes, you can roll your eyes at how silly I'm being. But really I actually had a short conversation with him on the phone. He asked me if I was doing NaNoMo (National Novel Writing Month) and when I told him that I remembered too late he suggested that maybe I could do it another month. He also really encouraged me to just keep writing as much as I can. It was so neat and fun to talk to him.

Here is the book that Bryce got for me (he's such a wonderful husband) and that he had Brandon Sanderson sign. It really is very cool.

I really wish that I had been able to be there in person to meet Brandon Sanderson but I'm confident that I will still have the opportunity coming up in the future. So Bryce is one lucky guy!

Just Unmolded Apple Cider Soap

2011-11-08T14:16:00.000-08:00

Here is a sneak peek at the Apple Cider Soap I made last night. The fragrance accelerated trace very rapidly so I had to modify my original design idea. However I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The best part of all is how absolutely wonderful this soap smells. It smells just like warm apple cider. This soap will be ready just in time for the Christmas season.

And the Winner Is. . .

2011-11-03T10:22:00.000-07:00

And the winner of the Hogg Wild Fibers giveaway is. . .

#4 Maile Creations

Maile Creations said...: I "Like" Hogg Wild Fibers
Please e-mail me at simplymcghie(at)comcast(dot)net with your name and e-mail address so that I can forward it on to Hogg Wild Fibers for you $20 gift certificate.
Thank you again to all of you wonderful people who participated and a very big thank you to Marcella of Hogg wild Fibers for being the sponsor of this giveaway.

Hogg Wild Fibers Review and Giveaway

2011-10-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

Well we are now onto our second installment of Etsy Shop Reviews. If you remember, the first installment was of Honey Tea Thyme. Today I present to you. . .

I first became acquainted with Marcella of Hogg Wild Fibers when she found me on Etsy. She was looking for a local Etsian who made homemade soap (which you all know I do :-) that she could then take and felt for an upcoming show that she was to be doing. Well we hit it off and she has been an invaluable help to me ever since.

She is the one who got me into felting my own soaps, the latest of which were my Rustic Autumn Felted Soaps felted with wool from her shop. She also got me into drop spinning which is a really fun and relaxing thing to do if you have never tried it. Her yarns and fibers are beautiful and she has great customer service. If you are into any sort of fiber arts I recommend her shop to you.

And guess what. . . she has generously offered a

$20 gift certificate

to anything in her shop for one lucky winner of this etsy shop review and giveaway.

HOGG WILD FIBERS GIVEAWAY

You have several ways and chances to enter this giveaway but for each way and chance YOU MUST COMMENT ON THIS POST ON THIS BLOG to be entered. Write a separate comment for each entry into the giveaway. Only comments on THIS BLOG will be entered. (Sorry for the caps. It's just really important in order to have everyone in the correct order of entry so that everyone who enters has a fair chance.)

You may do one, or all ways to enter. The more you enter, the more chances you have to win.

1. Be a follower of this blog. Leave a comment telling me that you are a follower of this blog. (I will be checking.)

2. "Like" the Hogg Wild Fibers facebook page. Leave a comment ON THIS BLOG (again, sorry for the caps) telling me that you "Like" her facebook page. If you are already one of her fans, let me know it and it counts.

3. Take a Trip over to Hogg Wild Fibers and check out her selection. Then come back to this blog post and write a comment telling me which of her yarns or fibers is your favorite.

4. Share this giveaway post on YOUR blog. Return and comment here with a link to your blog post. (If there is no link to check, there is no entry).

WRITE A DIFFERENT COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY!
This giveaway will close one week from today, November 2nd.

Ok, ready, set, GO!

Oh and just so you know, Hogg Wild Fibers has a blog too. You can check it out at http://hoggwildfibers.blogspot.com/

And the Winner Is. . .

2011-10-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

CINDY!!

with her comment

"I would love to receive your Holiday Berry soap for Christmas!"

Than you everyone who entered.

Stay tuned tomorrow for another special etsy shop review and giveaway. You won't want to miss this one.

Have a wonderful day!

Cindy, I'll e-mail you to get your info.

The Tastes of Home

2011-10-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

As a lot of you already know, I had the wonderful blessing of growing up in the mountains on 40 acres of the Sierra Nevada wilderness. Where I lived, in addition the the wild blackberries and elderberries, we grew apples and pears which included several different varieties. My grandpa planted these apple and pear trees when he was just a young man making the trees over 50 years old. This past weekend I had the amazing experience of bringing my family back to where I grew up and picking apples and pears with them. Not only was it my children's first experience with picking apples and pears, it was also my husband's as well.

I think that if I were to look back through some old pictures I would find one very similar to this one where my brother and I, about the same age were riding in the trailer of the tractor.

All three kids enjoyed themselves. We are all apple and pear lovers so it was fun for the kids to see how they grew and where apples and pears came from. Baby Boy especially loved the pears and as we picked he happily munched on the soft juicy fruit.

I feel so blessed to have been able to share this experience with my family. Picking apples and pears has always been one of my most cherished memories of where I grew up. These trees and this place has always and will forever hold a very special place in my heart.

Now time to get busy. On the agenda for the next few days. . .

canned pears

pear butter

pear jelly

crab-apple jelly

apple butter

apple sauce

and maybe apple jelly

and things just wouldn't be complete without making some of Nana's Applesauce Cake, a recipe that's been in our family for five generations.

A Giveaway As Promised

2011-10-19T16:38:00.000-07:00

I mentioned earlier that when my blog reached 50 followers I would do a surprise giveaway and here it is! Earlier today my blog reached 50 followers. Of course that could have something to do with Bramble Berry's S.O.A.P. Mash Up post but I'll take it. And since my involvement in Bramble Berry's Fall 2011 S.O.A.P. team had a lot to do with all of my new followers and friends both here and on my facebook page, I have decided that the best way to celebrate would be a giveaway of a bar from each of the test fragrances I did. One very lucky winner will win all of these bars of soap that you see in the above picture. That is just over 2 pounds of soap!

You have several ways and chances to enter this giveaway but for each way and chance YOU MUST COMMENT ON THIS POST ON THIS BLOG to be entered. Do not comment on the facebook page if you are wanting to be entered. Only comments on THIS BLOG will be entered. (Sorry for the caps. It's just really important in order to have everyone in the correct order of entry so that everyone who enters has a fair chance.)

You may do one, or all ways to enter. The more you enter, the more chances you have to win.

1. Be a follower of this blog. Leave a comment telling me that you are a follower of this blog. (I will be checking.)
2. "Like" my facebook page (link is found above or in my sidebar). Leave a comment ON THIS BLOG (again, sorry for the caps) telling me that you "Like" my facebook page. (Again, I will be checking).
3. Comment on this post what soap you want to get for Christmas.
4. Share this giveaway post on YOUR blog. Return and comment here with a link to your blog post. (If there is no link to check, there is no entry).

WRITE A DIFFERENT COMMENT FOR EACH ENTRY!
(Thank you Julianna for pointing that out. All who have already entered with a "cluster" comment entry, I'll go ahead and count those separately. That just also means that I'm going to have to make a separate list to do the drawing from but that is ok :-)

Ok, so now that you know the different ways that you can enter this giveaway, ENTER!
This giveaway will be open until OCTOBER 26TH. I will announce the winner sometime in the afternoon/evening of that same day.

Ready, Set. . . GO!

Three New Soaps

2011-10-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

Tea Tree and Peppermint with Aloe Vera

I've been wanting to do a Tea Tree essential oil soap for a very long time and I finally figured out what combination of scents to do and mustered up the courage to try it. This scent combination smells amazing. It's of course Tea Tree and Peppermint but also has the wonderfully invigorating scents of Cornmint, Rosemary, Lily of the Valley, Lavender, Eucalyptus and Musk. I added Aloe Vera for the added skin nourishing benefits to go with the already wonderful healing properties of Tea Tree oil. Did you know that Tea Tree oil has antiseptic properties? Just think of all the wonderful possibilities of this soap. (Available early November)

Rich Chocolate Swirl

This is for all those chocolate lovers out there. This is the exact same formula as my previous Rich Chocolate Swirl (which I have one bar left of and is available for sale HERE) but with a slightly different look and a more manageable size. What makes this bar of soap so amazing, besides the amazing chocolate scent, is luxurious, skin loving Cocoa Butter. (Available early November)

Orange and Vanilla Shampoo Bars with Aloe Vera

These shampoo bars are made with all the same wonderful ingredients as my Rosemary Peppermint Shampoo Bars but with some bumped up bubbly and hair conditioning action. Made with rich Avocado Butter, Shea Butter and Cocoa Butter these bars will leave your hair feeling wonderfully soft and manageable. The scent is delicious and inviting as well as invigorating. (Available October 27th)

S.O.A.P Team: Conclusion

2011-09-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be a good idea to re post the pictures of each of the Bramble Berry S.O.A.P Team Mystery fragrances with links to the blog posts that I did for each individual one. That way it would be an easy, one stop shop for my results.

I'd like to also take this opportunity to thank Bramble Berry for this amazing and wonderful experience. I learned so much in the process and had a really fun time testing these fragrances out. I'm also excited for when the final results are revealed so I can see how well I did at identifying the fragrances.

Well here we go:

Mystery Fragrance #1

Mystery Fragrance #2

Mystery Fragrance #3

Mystery Fragrance #4

this soap has gotten a little darker as it has aged :-(

Mystery Fragrance #5

Mystery Fragrance #6

Mystery Fragrance #7

Mystery Fragrance #8

Thank you again Bramble Berry for this wonderful experience!

Ten Months!

2011-09-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

My Baby Boy is 10 months old!

Where does the time go?

Thank you Tera for sending me this picture :-)

S.O.A.P Team: Mystery Fragrance #6 and #7

2011-09-19T12:17:00.000-07:00

Well I've come to the end of my Bramble Berry S.O.A.P. Team fragrance testing. It has been an amazing and fun adventure as I stretched my horizons I tried out new things with soap that I didn't know I could do before. It definitely gave my sniffer and education as well. I'm really looking forward to when the fragrances are revealed so I can see how well I guessed on some of them.

Well now I present to you Mystery Fragrance #6

Right out of the bottle: This is what I said in my first impressions post, "First thought it smelled like a "Rain Forest" scented face mask I used to get from Avon then I thought it smelled like Dawn dish detergent and then I though maybe I could smell something citrus. That was all in a matter of a minute. But my ending impression was that it smelled sort of sweet woodsy but with a whole bunch of other stuff in there. " The scent kept screaming to me, "blue-green-blue-green." This ultimately ended up being one of my favorites.

Method: Same method I've used the whole time. Cold processed, same recipe, same mixing temps, gel phase.

The Results!

1. No discoloration of the soap. I used three colors for my swirl -blue, green and the soaps natural color and when I compare the white parts to my control bar they are the same color.
2. Moderate trace acceleration. It wasn't too bad however. I've soaped with other fragrances that were a lot worse.
3. The fragrance stayed true in the finished result.

Over all impressions: This is a fragrance that I would buy and use again and again.

Mystery Fragrance #7

Right out of the bottle: This is what I initially said, "Ginger-warm-spicy-Cedar-woodsy-pines? (That is the exact train of thought when I smelled it.) I really like this one and at the end it has a definite woodsy scent." I would like to add that on additional smellings, this kept screaming to me "Christmas Tree." It very definitely reminds me of fresh cut trees. But this one smells so good that I'd use it even in other times of the year.

Method: Same method I've used the whole time. Cold processed, same recipe, same mixing temps, gel phase.

The Results!

1. There was a slight soap discoloration. It turned a yellowy color. That has faded some now however and is more true to the natural unscented soap color.
2. I did experience thick track acceleration. It didn't seize on me and was still workable but I'm no so sure this scent would work so well if you were wanting to do anything fancy.
3. The scent did mild out some from the bottle but not in a bad way. It's like fine cooking where it takes time for the flavors to blend and meld together.

Over all impressions: I really like this one. I can also imagine this in a candle or room spritz. Its a really nice woodsy scent.

Well thank you everyone for going with me on this soaping adventure. I've enjoyed your comments and getting to know some of my fellow soapers. Thank you Bramble Berry for being awesome and letting me a part of this.

I will probably do one more blog post about this with a picture of all the soaps in one post as well as links to the original posts.

I am. . .

2011-09-16T12:51:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here on my front porch on this beautiful day. The birds are chirping away happily in my neighbor's tree a few houses down and for the first time in a long time the breeze has a cool freshness to it that has been lacking all summer.

My big kindergartener who just turned five on Wednesday is off at school. My baby is asleep in his crib and my Little Girl is quietly playing. It's quiet in my home today. Even the swam cooler with it's incessant droning has been shut off leaving a blissful quietness that I never know is missing from my life until the fall.

My life feels good right now. I'm at peace with decisions I have been struggling with for a while and I have received answers to prayer. I can't help but marvel at the timing of everything. I have very definite trends in my life, seasons if you will where I struggle and just can't seem to figure anything out. There are two things that I've noticed that coincide with these seasons.

The first one is very closely related to the age of my youngest child. Baby Boy is very soon going to be ten months old. I've noticed that when my babies are still very young and their needs are very constant that those are one of the times I struggle the most with them. That's not to say that I don't enjoy that time because I do immensely, but it is one of the most physically exhausting times for me. The frequent getting up in the middle of the night, constant holding while trying to do housework at the same time, and then I had to go and add starting my own business and waking up at 5:00am each morning to make sure I have time for personal scripture study and time to write, all these things make life exhausting. But now that Baby Boy is a little older and loves to crawl around and play on the floor, I'm able to get things done without holding him and he's starting to sleep more consistently through the night. You may not think of it that way but that makes a huge difference in my energy level and life in general. The other part of this too would have to be pregnancy. Without going into the difficulties of pregnancy because I know several of my friends who would gladly and willingly go through even some of the most difficult of times if it mean that they could have a little one, I will only say that it is a difficult time on your body and messes with your mind. Pregnancy Brain is real people.

The second thing that coincides with my difficult season is the summer time. I am not a summer person. I do not do well in hot weather. Where I live, believe me when I say that it gets very hot and stays very hot for long periods of time. Now true, this has been a very mild summer but it was still difficult for me. Hot weather just seems to melt my thinking ability, melts my energy and the constant droning of the swamp cooler and whinny kids because they too are hot not to mention the loud nature of the neighborhood during the summer, don't make things any better. Then add a baby into the mix and you've got a recipe for one tired, exhausted, melting mother mess. For some of you just getting to know me, I grew up in the mountains on forty acres of heaven. Yes it still would get hot but it was quiet, no close neighbors to really worry about and the evenings cooled off wonderfully. So as a mountain girl, being stuck in the city wears on me at times.

So maybe these things are why I'm finally able to come out of my difficult season at this time. My baby's older and the weather is getting cooler meaning I can finally think. Ahhh. . . it's so nice. Do you want to see something interesting (it shows how even though other things may be difficult, the cooler weather still some how seems to make things a little more bearable. Humm, maybe I should move to a cooler climate so that I have less difficult seasons. I know, I know, off on a tangent.) Ok, here goes. . .

Fall 2010 -very pregnant and uncomfortable then a newborn.
Fall 2009 -Bryce just started a new and wonderful job. October pregnant, November miscarriage
fall 2008 -still very young baby girl, no job, very stressful time.
fall 2007 -Little Boy was a year old and I was going back to school, but then I had to add being pregnant on top of school which eventually made fall of that year quite a challenge. This is also when Bryce lost his job starting two full years of hardship and struggles.
fall 2006- Newborn Little Boy, first child and having absolutely no idea what I was even doing. (still don't really but I like to pretend I do :-)
Fall 2005- my most difficult semester of school ever and that was only because I was on a BC that I has having a very negative reaction too. Depression, Migraines, exhaustion, inability to function or go to class. When we discovered what was happening, the semester was over and that is when I vowed that I would never go on hormonal BC ever again.
Fall 2004- Newly wedded bliss, ignorant about so many things but enjoying life immensely.

And this year. . . 1) Three beautiful children filling life with may firsts (a blog post about that to come later) 2) an amazing husband who has devoted his life to making my life and the lives our our children better by working full time, going to school full time, spending as much time with us as he can and serving the Lord in any way possible, 3) a renewed determination and confirmation that I am suppose to write. The book I began writing two years ago is probably not the one that will eventually be published but that doesn't matter. I am writing for me and because when I get down to it, it fills every part of my being with joy and an assurance that I have been given this talent and gift for a purpose. You may not see it through my wonderful, immaculate example of a blog (total sarcasm), but I am a writer. Yes, I am a wife and mother and business owner and a million other title that you can throw at me but I am also a writer and it's time I start acting like one. 4)Peace. The world may be in an upheaval but I will feel peace. People around me may do things that seem contrary to what they should, I will not worry about it. I will will feel peace. Things in my life may be completely out of my hands and out of my control, but I will feel peace. My goal is to have less seasons in my life where I struggle with trying to figure who I am and what I am suppose to be doing, and to have more seasons where I feel joy and peace and assurance that I am doing what is right for me and those things that the Lord would have me do. I am still trying to figure out what Heavenly Father wants me to become, but I am determined now to be that person. I won't magically become that person at some future date. I have to choose to become that person today and work hard, striving for it, ever reaching for it.

Here is one of my most favorite talks from the last general conference. It is a talk give my Elder Oaks where he talks about desire. I promise you will feel inspired by it.

Elder Oaks April 2011 "Desire"

I hope all of you are able to have wonderful, amazing day full of discovery and renewed determination to become the person you want to be.

S.O.A.P Team: Mystery Fragrance #5 and #8

2011-09-13T21:10:00.000-07:00

I know what you are thinking. . . "Wow, two fragrances in one post," and "Wait! She forgot about #6 and #7." Well rest assured I did not forget about #6 and #7, I just had an idea for them the would require a little more time but as I'm exhausted at this point I'm scrapping those ideas and will do something simpler (which is always pretty nice anyway). And I am only able to do two soaps in one night now because of my wonderful husband who made me a new soap mold just like the one his dad made for me a while back. See, isn't it pretty? Love you Bryce!

Well now onto the part you have all been waiting for, the fragrances.

I present to you Mystery Fragrance #5. . .

First Impression/Right out of the Bottle: Here is what I said about it, "Smells Good! Smells like Juicy Fruit gum? or is it Pineconeish. (See I told you I was really good at identifying smells :-)" This was probably one of my favorite fragrances right out of the bottle but as you can see, it was a little difficult for me to pin point what it was. All I knew was that it smelled good.

Method: Cold Processed, soaped between 100 and 105 degrees. Went to gel phase. Same recipe and fragrance ratio as previous mystery fragrance batches.

The Results!

1. No trace acceleration.
2. No soap discoloration. What you see in the picture are soap gratings from a previously made, unscented bar.
3. Fragrance stuck amazingly well.

Now that I've soaped with this fragrance I'm smelling roses. I could be way off on it but I smell roses and some other things in there that I still can't identify. I also still love this scent. This is probably one I'd order over and over again. It smells that good.

Mystery Fragrance #8

First Impression/Right out of the Bottle: Here is what I said about it, "Oak-fireplace (good smelling kind)-earthy. I really like this one too." This fragrance just really reminds me of my grandma's fireplace during the winter.

Method: Cold Processed, soaped between 100 and 105 degrees. Went to gel phase. Same recipe and fragrance ratio as previous mystery fragrance batches.

The Results!

1. Absolutely no trace acceleration. I had to wait quite a while for my layers to set up to get the design I wanted. So this would be a really good one to play with if you needed lots of time.
2. Absolutely no soap discoloration. I did not color the soap at all.
3. Fragrance stuck well. The fragrance did mild out some in the soap and I consider that a good thing. I could definitely see this as a man's fragrance. Of course I had to girlify the soap by putting a pretty anise star on top but I still think that the manly men out there would love this scent.

Ok, now I'm down to just two more fragrances to test. I'm having so much fun and I think I may be a little sad when I'm done. I've learned a lot from this experience that I'll share at a later time. But for now, have a wonderful day!

Mystery Fragrance 4

2011-09-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

Time for another Mystery Fragrance Review.

This is Mystery Fragrance #4 and was one of my favorites out of the bottle. Here is what I originally thought of it:

Right Out of the Bottle "I'm calling this one "Hayride." It's one of the warmer scents. It sort of reminds me of the perfume "Giorgio." I know "Hayride" and "Giorgio" don't really go together but that's what my mind came up with."

Method: I used the same method on this soap as I used on the other ones. Same formula, cold process, gel phase. This has three layers, a bottom in the pot swirl with some yellow, a middle non colored layer and a top yellow swirl.

The Results!

1. Fragrance did accelerate trace but not so much that it wasn't workable.
2. Fragrance did discolor to a soft yellow. If you look at my picture, the middle has no colorant.
3. The fragrance stuck very nicely. It did loose some of it's potency from the bottle but is still a very, very lovely scent.

Over all opinion: I really like this scent. It's warm and inviting but definitely has a perfume scent to it. It still reminds me of Giorgio perfume. However, if I had a line of soaps to smell and buy I would pick a more "natural" type of scent over this one. But from a soaper's point of view, the way this one really stuck in the soap would make me buy it again if I had customers who liked it.

I'm done soaping for this week so I will probably soap Mystery fragrance #5 on Monday. Here's my planned schedule:

Monday #5
Tuesday #6
Wednesday #7 and hopefully if I haven't been burned out for the week
Thursday #8

And yes Megan, I promise to also be practicing the piano ;-)

A New Item And A (Possible) Giveaway

2011-09-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

Check these beauties out!

I really like how they turned out.

These are Mini Felted Rustic Autumn Soap

(Goat Milk, Oatmeal, Honey, Orange and Vanilla Soap)

I just listed these in my etsy shop today. I'm very excited about them.

Also in other news, I am up to 45 followers! When I reach 50 followers I will do a giveaway. I haven't decided what yet so if you have any suggestions on something you've just been dying to try, let me know and I'll consider it.

Well I gatta go practice the piano. Talk to you all later!

Mystery Fragrance 3 (Updated)

2011-09-07T13:44:00.000-07:00

Well now we're onto another Mystery Fragrance. This one was a challenge for me. But before I get into it here is what I said as my first impression.

Right out of the Bottle: Musky? Woodsy? Something candy-ish. Can't identify very well. So far not one of my favorites.

My third, fourth and even fifth attempts at trying to identify the fragrance were no better. At the end before actually soaping with it, I believe I finally settled on something berryish. (Yes I am making up words.)

Method: I used the same recipe as before. Cold process with mixing temps between 100-105 degrees F and letting it go through gel phase. This is something I did with the others as well and decided that I would keep this method through the whole testing process.

The Results!

The bottom layer is an in the pot swirl and the soap curl on top is a chocolate soap curl from a project I did a while ago. It's mainly just for decorative purposes. The top layer has no colorant so that I could compare it with my control bar and there is a faint change in color from the fragrance but not enough that it is bothersome.

Fragrance notes:
1. Very slight discoloration.
2. Moderate trace acceleration.
3. Scent changed in finished result.

I have to say that I am a little disappointed with this fragrance. Yes it was not one of my favorites out of the bottle but it wasn't bad. In the soap however it lost some of the sweeter notes of the soap leaving a flat scent that frankly reminds me of rubber. Not like rubber tires but like the rubber balls that kids get out of the vending machines in grocery stores. I know. . .I'm weird. Sooo, this is probably not one I'd go for again. Just my own opinion.

My husband doesn't think it's too bad. He does agree that the scent is milder in the soap but that it still smells berryish. So maybe my smeller is a little off.

Update: Smelling the bars the next morning has improved my opinion of the fragrance. While the scent is still very mild it does smell much nicer. I have a feeling that this is one of those fragrances that gets better as it cures. We shall see!

The Preschool Project Year 2

2011-09-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

Well we are off on another year of the Preschool Project. I decided that even though it will be a while before this Little Girl is off to school, that I should continue doing home school preschool with her so that she doesn't forget all that I taught her last year. So while Little Boy is off at kindergarten and Baby Boy takes a nap, the girls are going to be having some fun.

I learned a lot from doing this last year and that is that I'm not going to commit myself to posting about each and every week. That got old after a while because we were doing pretty much the same things. I also had a baby during that time which really put a wrench into my grand plans. So this year, I will periodically post about our preschool projects but that will be it. I will also continue to post links to things so that you see where I get my ideas or some of the fun pictures.

Anyway, to start off the year we started with the letter 'A' and obviously what starts with letter 'A'? That's right, APPLE! Here are today's projects drying so that we can tape them up to the fridge or our "Blackboard."
Apple and Letter A (the website is being very slow)

Something else I learned from last year is that we need to be doing a lot more writing practice. So we will be trying to write more and especially learn to write our name. My hope is that when Little Girl is finally able to go to kindergarten that she will be able to write her name. Little Boy, even though we had been working on it all summer, still refuses to write his name.

Well, have a nice day. Feel free to share your ideas for different projects with me and if I try them out I'll do a blog post about them.

Mystery Fragrance 2

2011-09-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

Well now it is onto Mystery Fragrance #2. I have to say that the more I worked with this particular fragrance, the more I liked it.

Right out of the bottle: Here is what I first thought of this scent. . . "I'm calling this one "Autumn Rain". It's slightly floral/woodsy and reminds me of the wet rainy season before the cold winter sets in." I still hold to my first thoughts but would like to add that this fragrance smells really clean.

Method: I made soap again. I'll give you a hint. I'll be making soap with all of these. I used the same formula as Mystery Fragrance #1 and I used the same fragrance ratio. However, instead of layers I just did an uncolored batch with some soap curls and chunks mixed in at thick trace. It was actually kind of refreshing to do just a really simple bar with a really simple design.

1. No color changes at all! At least not yet. I compared it to my control bar and the colors looked the same.
2. No trace acceleration.
3. Used .5oz. fragrance per pound of oils and the scent is really pleasant in the bars. It mellowed in the soap resulting in a refreshing clean scent.

Over all impressions: I know it's like comparing apples to oranges but of the two scents that's I've tested out so far I like this one more. I really hope that the scent sticks around during the curing time and after. If the scent does indeed stick around, this is probably one I'd want to have in my supplies year round.

Well that will be all the testing for this week. I will probably test out my next fragrance on Monday or Tuesday night.

Visit again soon!

Mystery Fragrance 1

2011-09-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

Well I finally was able to start testing the fragrances from Bramble Berry. You can see my first impressions HERE!

I feel like I'm so far behind the other S.O.A.P. Team panelists because I've only been able to do one fragrance so far. I've been sick, I've run out of coconut oil, I've been busy with kids and a husband who works a full time job as well as being a full time student. . . really I could go on and on. But anyway, I present to you my results of Mystery Fragrance #1.

Right out of the bottle: I first thought this smelled like mulberry and spices then maybe sugar plum. It's a warm and cozy type of scent and one that definitely reminds me of the fall.

Method: I made soap. That is my medium so I thought that sticking with what I was comfortable with would be the best way to test out these fragrances. So, I soaped like I normally would -cold process. I also used a recipe that I'm very familiar with so that anything unexpected would not be because it was an unfamiliar recipe.

The Results!

1. The fragrance did not discolor in any way. I made a control batch so that I would have something to compare it to.
2. Did not notice any exceleraion of trace.
3 Using .5oz/lb of fragrance, the scent stuck well and seems a little more balanced once it's been used in the soap. Out of the bottle it's strong and in the soap it's just right.

Over all impressions: It's a really nice scent but not one I'm wild about (yet). It may still grow on me.

I was going to be testing Mystery Fragrance #2 tonight but I have a lot of work to catch up on so I'll either do it tomorrow night or Monday next week. I'm hoping to get 3-4 tests done next week.

Visit again soon!

Honey Tea Thymn Giveaway Winner

2011-09-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

And the winner is. . . .

Alex!

Alex said...: The rose petal honey looks interesting! That and the apple. And the mint! :) thanks! Alex, please e-mail me at simplymcghie@comcast.net with your name and address so that I can send it off to Honey Tea Thyme. (Winner selected with random.org)

Honey Tea Thyme Review and Giveaway

2011-08-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

**(Giveaway instructions at the bottom)
I decided a couple of weeks ago that I wanted to start a new series on my blog where I would highlight a product on Etsy for you in an effort to help support and spread the word about some of the wonderful things that Etsy has to offer. So I am very excited to introduce to you. . .

Honey Tea Thyme

Here is what shop owner Sharon Pacheco has to say about her product:

"I'm a stay at home mom living in northwest Colorado. I love nature and natural healing. Honey has become my passion and the more I learn about it the more passionate I become. Honeys natural ability to heal is amazing to me and for the past 25 years I have used it to help my children get over colds and illness and applied it to burns with amazing results. It is my #1 choice when we are feeling under the weather. Honey Tea Thyme is made from 100% pure raw honey from a local farm in Craig, Colorado. The honey is flavored with all natural essential oils, herbs, and other natural extracts. The various flavors of Honey Tea Thyme are suited for teas but are also delicious on toast. They can even be used as a cooking ingredient for specialty breads or whatever suits you. Honey Tea Thyme is simply delicious no matter which way you choose to use it."

I first discovered this shop when I was making a treasury and I fell in love with all the pictures and descriptions of the different types of honey. I love honey and am always looking out for the next best honey in the world. Well guess what. . . I FOUND IT! Below is a picture of the jar I ordered. I ordered the Autumn Spice flavor and it is amazing. Right out of the jar it tasted like. . well. . . Autumn. Warm Ginger, sweet apple and of course, cinnamon. Mmmmmmm it is so good. I have since tried it as a "tea." I just dissolved some in a cup of hot water and there was no need for anything else. I have even tried it on waffles. Yes, yesterday we ran out of syrup and I thought humm, I wonder what this would taste like. And it was very yummy.

And guess what. . . Honey Tea Thyme has agreed to do a giveaway for you, my readers! See, I love you guys :-) This giveaway will be for a sample size jar (or however Honey Tea Thyme will do it) of one of their fabulous honeys. To enter the giveaway you must do at least one of these things:

1. Follow my blog Simply McGhie. I have a follow button in my sidebar. Then come back to the comments and let me know that you are now a follower. If you already follow my blog, write a comment saying you already follow my blog.
2. Take a trip over to Honey Tea Thyme and look through their selection. Then return and tell me in a comment which product you are most interested in trying.
3. If you have a blog, blog about this giveaway then put a link to your blog post in a comment to me.

For each of these ways to enter the giveaway, you must return back and leave a comment in order to be counted in the giveaway. You may enter up to three times. This giveaway will close midnight PST August 31st and the winner will be announced September 1st. Good luck!

P.S. If you do decide to buy something from Honey Tea Thyme, I'm sure they won't mind it one bit. AND it would totally be worth it.

S.O.A.P Team: Phase 1 -First Impressions

2011-08-23T21:48:00.000-07:00

My package arrived this afternoon from Bramble Berry with all the test fragrances. The Fedex guy drove up just as I got home from picking up my little boy from school so it was perfect timing. As soon as I had my youngest down for a nap, I excitedly opened up the box. This is what I found inside. . .

8 Test Fragrances!!!

I had to wait until my kiddos went to bed before I could open these up and take a whiff. Otherwise I would have had three little helpers and I could only see disaster from that.

As part of the instructions from Bramble Berry, I am to record my first impressions of each of the fragrances. Well, trying to do this proved a challenge. I learned that I am very inexperienced with what scents are. I can say "ooh, I like that" or "this smells like a tree" and that's basically how I categorize scents. So, I did the best I could. I also had to space these out. I would smell one, wash my hands, go do something else in another part of the house and then 10-15 minutes later come back and smell another one. So here it goes. . .

Mystery Fragrance #1- Mulberry, Spice, possibly Sugar Plum

Mystery Fragrance #2- I'm calling this one "Autumn Rain". It's slightly floral/woodsy and reminds me of the wet rainy season before the cold winter sets in.

Mystery Fragrance #3- Musky? Woodsy? Something candy-ish. Can't identify very well. So far not one of my favorites.

Mystery Fragrance #4- I'm calling this one "Hayride." It's one of the warmer scents. It sort of reminds me of the perfume "Giorgio." I know "Hayride" and "Giorgio" don't really go together but that's what my mind came up with.

Mystery Fragrance #5- Smells Good! Smells like Juicy Fruit gum? or is it Pineconeish. (See I told you I was really good at identifying smells :-)

Mystery Fragrance #6- First thought it smelled like a "Rain Forest" scented face mask I used to get from Avon then I thought it smelled like Dawn dish detergent and then I though maybe I could smell something citrus. That was all in a matter of a minute. But my ending impression was that it smelled sort of sweet woodsy but with a whole bunch of other stuff in there.

Mystery Fragrance #7- Ginger-warm-spicy-Cedar-woodsy-pines? (That is the exact train of thought when I smelled it.) I really like this one and at the end it has a definite woodsy scent.

Mystery Fragrance #8- Oak-fireplace (good smelling kind)-earthy. I really like this one too.

Well this was really fun. I can't wait to try them out in some soap. If there is one thing that I've learned from using Bramble Berry Fragrances it's that you have to go by how it smells in the product (which is where it counts anyway).

P.S. My husband is smelling these now and he's coming up with similar conclusions.

First Day of School Pancakes

2011-08-22T15:38:00.000-07:00

Today was the big day. It was my Little Boy's first day of kindergarten. For breakfast I threw together some healthy pancakes. No, literally, I pretty much just did "a little of this, a little of that" and tu-dah!! Delicious Oatmeal Wheat Pancakes. Wait. . . Oatmeal? That's right! And here's my recipe.

Oatmeal Wheat Pancakes
1 cup Bisquick
1 cup wheat flour
1 TBS baking powder
2 TBS brown sugar
1 handful quick oats (I know, real scientific measurements)
2 eggs
1 cup milk (or more if you like thinner batter).

Mix together, cook and serve just like the directions say on the Bisquick box.

This tasted great and kept the kids satisfied a little longer then the regular kind of pancakes and it was a great way to get them some grains.

As for how things went for the big kindergartener. Well. . . he started out excited but I think was very happy to be home. There were some tears when we were finally home but once he rested and got some food in him (he acted like he hadn't eaten lunch) then he seemed to be fine. The test will come tomorrow when we have to do it all again.

Well that's all for now. My Bramble Berry S.O.A.P Team package is expected to arrive tomorrow and I'm very excited.

Coming soon:
1. Bramble Berry Package Arrival
2. Etsy shop/product review (a new series I'll be doing).
3. A Surprise Giveaway!

A Lot of Soaping Happenings

2011-08-18T09:41:00.000-07:00

Simply Goat Milk Herb Bar

Well I have a lot going on right now. First, probably my biggest news, I've been selected to be on the Fall 2011 Bramble Berry S.O.A.P Team. I'm soooo excited. Check out the announcement HERE. That means that I'll be one of the first to test out some of the Fall/Winter Fragrance collection offered by Bramble Berry. Shortly I'll be receiving 9 (1 oz.) test fragrances and from now until September 30th I'll be busy testing out this stuff. I'm very excited about it and you will probably get to see some of my documentation.

Next, I am participating in a couple Youtube giveaways. The first one is of my Rich Chocolate Swirl and if you enter the giveaway, you could win a free bar of this stuff. Check out coolcell18's video to see how you can enter. This giveaway closes on August 29th. The other giveaway that I'll be participating in is not yet open so as soon as it becomes available I'll give you the details.

Mini Felted Soaps (3 Varieties)

Next, Welcome! To all my new followers. My blog is about a lot of different things. It started out as a blog about all the many things that I do in my life (and believe me, I do A LOT). Over time it has also become my soaping blog. I often post my experiments and post about what is coming soon in my Etsy Shop.

Next, I am very sorry to say that I will be canceling my basic soap making class that was scheduled for September 10th. I have just got so much going on right now, especially with my husband going back to school and my Little Boy starting kindergarten that I needed to take something off my plate. If you are still interested in taking a basic soap making class, please contact me. Just because I'm not doing it now, doesn't mean that I won't in the future. It's just been put on hold for now.

Well I think that is all for now. Have a wonderful day!

Mini Oatmeal "Cookie" Soap

A Little Catch Up: Yosemite

2011-08-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

We had grand plans for this summer. Bryce and I were going to get away for our anniversary (taking Baby Boy of course) and we were going to take a family camping trip to the mountains. Well then life threw a monkey wrench in our plans. Without going into great detail, let's just say that things were busy and life got away from us. So, because I couldn't let a whole summer going by without doing SOMETHING, we took a day trip up to Yosemite. My sister-in-law and her kids came up for a few days so we all went up to Yosemite together. In the picture above we are standing next to the creek/river that flows off of Bridal Veil Falls. This is a special spot for Bryce and I. After we got engaged and we were driving home after meeting some of Bryce's family for the first time we drove through Yosemite and made a pit stop at this water fall. We also hang out at this exact location and talked while stretching out out legs a bit from the drive back home. No we didn't carve our name into the tree. Too bad we didn't think to take a picture at that time though. It would have looked significantly different from the one we just took with our growing family.

Here is the shot I took of the view driving into Yosemite Valley. You would not believe the amount of people lined up at the ledge taking a picture of this exact spot.

And of course here is Baby Boy being a cutie pie. There was a tree with the perfect little sitting spot. He was having a lot of fun being outside with all the big trees and water. No, he doesn't take after me at all (sarcasm).

And probably one of the funniest things we saw was this sign and I am including it into this post per Little Boy's request. If you think about it for a while, you will realize why we think it is so funny. Not that we condone the killing of bears though. That is actually a very sad thing.

Next time we go to Yosemite, we are going when there will be less people. Even though it was really beautiful, it was hard to really enjoy it because the ridiculous amount of people. We didn't get to see half the things we wanted to because there just was no place to park. Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

Brambleberry Fall S.O.A.P Team Search Entry

2011-08-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

Have I ever mentioned here how much I love Bramble Berry Soap Making Supplies? Well in case I haven't, I'm going to now. I love Bramble Berry! With the exception of the ingredients I can obtain locally (which isn't many), I buy all my necessary soap making ingredients exclusively at Bramble Berry. Why do I do this? Well because right from the very beginning I have consistently had excellent experiences with them. Their products are of the finest quality and every scent that I have tried from Bramble Berry has worked wonderfully. I have never had a bad experience with them. Their service is fast and I always wait with anticipation for my package to arrive (and I never have to wait very long).

I have a few produces from Bramble Berry that I absolutely LOVE! The first is Cocoa Butter. I can remember the first time I ordered this and when I opened up my package it smelled like I had just stepped into a chocolate factory. Mmmmm chocolate. It literally smelled so good that I wanted to take a bite out of it. I refrained however and instead used it to make some amazing products. I've made body soaps, shaving soaps, shampoo bars and body butters!

My next favorite product would have to be the Citrus Synergistic Essential Oil Blend. Oh my let me tell you, this essential oil blend is amazing. Containing orange, lemon and grapefruit essential oils, this blend is both energizing and relaxing at the same time. This essential oil, combined with the wonderfully exfoliating Loofah Sponge is what makes my Citrus Loofah Bars so wonderful in a morning shower.

My next (and I promise my last) would have to be the Ocean Rain Fragrance Oil. This fragrance oil smells so good. The smell also lasts a really long time in my soaps. I love this fragrance especially because when men ask me what I have in my inventory that they may like, I can pull out a bar made with this fragrance oil and without fail they will love it.

So why should Bramble Berry pick me to be on their Fall S.O.A.P Team? Well because I'm a Bramble Berry fanatic, that's why! Not only that, but I refer my friends to Bramble Berry too. I buy exclusively through Bramble Berry and I am an avid follower of The Soap Queen. It probably also helps that I'm addicted to soap making. My passion for soap making, combined with Bramble Berry's amazing products, equals soap making heaven!

August Soaping Newsletter

2011-08-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

Wow, is it August already? Time goes by so fast. Before I know it, two of my boys will be in school (Little Boy is entering kindergarten and Bryce is going to Fresno City). Well, we've got a lot of happenings in my family for the month of August and one of them is a Peddlers Fair on August 13th.

Peddlers Fair

August 13th

Sierra Oaks Senior Center

next to Sierra High School

33326 Lodge Road, Tollhouse, California 93667

Breakfast is served from 7-10am. Come early for breakfast and enjoy a walk around the peddler's fair. I'm not sure how long the fair goes to.
My etsy shop will be closed August 12-14th because of the fair. We will re-open August 15th.

Soap Class Sign-up Deadline
August 27th
The soap class will take place September 10th (unless I don't have enough sign ups)

It will cover three area.
1. Basic Melt and Pour Soap making.
2. Re-batching/Hand-milling/French-milling.
3. Basic Cold Process Soap making. (topics not necessarily in that order)

The class is $40 and includes the materials needed to make a whole pound (16oz) of your very own Melt and Pour soap, a bar of soap (or two depending on size that you pick) of your choice from my collection of homemade cold process soaps, two tried and true recipes and step by step instructions for you to take notes on during the class.

This class is open to 5 people only! And is on a first come first serve basis. Payment must be made by August, 27, 2011 in order to reserve your spot and insure I have all the materials needed to make this a great experience for all who participate.

Please e-mail me at simplymcghie@comcast.net if you have any questions or would like to reserve your spot.

Currently On Sale

Lavender Beauty

on sale for $2.75

Cocoa Butter and Poppyseed

on sale for $2.75

Coupon Code for 10% off
your order through my etsy shop from now through Saturday August 6th.
hotaugust

Coming Soon

Spellbound Woods: Spellbound Woods is a blend of Amber, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Cedarwood and the barest hint of light floral on the dry down (Bramble Berry description of scent). This stuff spell amazing! It's supposed to be a wonderful "manly" scent.

Rustic Autumn: This is a goat milk, oatmeal and honey soap with orange essential oil and vanilla added to make this soap smell absolutely wonderful. It reminds me of everything good about Autumn.

Rosemary Peppermint Shampoo Bars: This unique blend of Rosemary is made of of 30% essential oils; Peppermint, Cornmint and Rosemary. You'll love the other unique and subtle notes of Lily of the Valley, Lavender, Eucalyptus and Musk (Bramble Berry description of scent). This is the same fragrance as my French Milled "Wake-Up Rosemary" bars. This ultra conditioning, ultra luxurious shampoo bar is made with olive oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, avacado butter, shea butter, castor oil and rice bran oil.

Vanilla Shaving Soap: This is just like the orange shaving soap but with more razor slicking clay and vanilla. Who doesn't love vanilla?

Because I've Been Slacking

2011-07-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

Because I have been slacking, you now get to experience some of my randomness. A lot of things have happened in the month of July that have been blog worthy (in my opinion) but I have been very busy doing, well. . . making soap/writing/mothering/practicing/etc.

Earlier in the month for date night, Bryce and I decided to take the kids to see the temple for their first time. We walked the grounds, talked about the temple and took the kids inside into the waiting room so they could feel what it is like in there.

Bryce has also been very busy with the bus business. And I mean CRAZY busy. We've missed him. Here is a bus he brought home this week. And of course the kids got the play in the sprinkler. Don't worry, they didn't go in the bus afterwards :-)

Zucchini out our ears!

lalalala

On Wednesday I went up to my grandma's house and she gave me a tone of books. The following are just some of them. There's more up there if I want them.

This is the dictionary I used growing up. I both loved and hated this book growing up.

Here's another old dictionary that's been around for a while. It's a Websters and we have no idea how old it is other then it is really, REALLY old.

I also got my grandma's collection of old family bibles. It's too bad no one wrote any family information in them. There were spots for them so they could have.

The Shampoo bars I made last night. I'm really excited about them. The scent is "wake up rosemary" and it is made with aloe vera, avocado butter, cocoa butter, Shea butter, olive oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil and castor oil. I haven't cut them yet but I'm excited about it.

Among the books that I got, as you can see I got some really old books. Here is the copy right page on a series of books called the "Pocket University." (Sorry about the picture, blogger is tweaking on me.)

Here are all the books!

And this last picture is a bay leaf wreath I made from a bay leaf tree at my grandma's house.

More Beach Pictures

2011-07-26T08:26:00.000-07:00

Here are some more pictures at the beach that Tera took. She got some good ones!

I love the tongue.

This one reminds me of one Bryce and I took in Hawaii almost 7 years ago.

Again, more tongue.

Soap Making Class Postponed

2011-07-23T14:32:00.000-07:00

The basic soap making class that I was offering has been postponed until September 10th. There are still spots available and the new payment deadline is August 27th. All other information is the same. Check HERE for the original post and information.

Thank You!

A Day At The Beach

2011-07-18T22:28:00.000-07:00

Thank You! Tera for this picture of Baby Boy. Most the pictures I took of him with my camera were blurry.

The McGhie and Williams families at Zuma Beach in Malibu, July 2011.

Basic Soap Making Class!

2011-07-12T15:53:00.000-07:00

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Attention Everyone!

I am offering my very first basic soap making class.

Saturday, August 13, 2011 (1:00-4:00pm) (location TBD-Fresno Area)

It will cover three area.
1. Basic Melt and Pour Soap making.
2. Re-batching/Hand-milling/French-milling.
3. Basic Cold Process Soap making. (topics not necessarily in that order)

The class is $40 and includes the materials needed to make a whole pound (16oz) of your very own Melt and Pour soap, a bar of soap (or two depending on size that you pick) of your choice from my collection of homemade cold process soaps, two tried and true recipes and step by step instructions for you to take notes on during the class.

This class is open to 5 people only! And is on a first come first serve basis. Payment must be made by July 31, 2011 in order to reserve your spot and insure I have all the materials needed to make this a great experience for all who participate.

Please e-mail me at simplymcghie@comcast.net if you have any questions or would like to reserve your spot.

Sale, Sale, Sale!

2011-07-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

Thursday is a special day for me. So to celebrate, what better way then to have a sale on things that make you clean! From now until July 14th 8:00pm PST use the code:

9th2ndbirthday

to get 25% off your order.

Enjoy!

Simply McGhie Soaps

ATTENTION!! If you are a local friend wanting to pick up your order in person, you will have to order through me directly in order to get the free shipping and the 25% off. So, just look at my site then let me know what you want and I'll e-mail an invoice off to you and we can set it up. For everyone else you can still get the 25% off by using the code.

I Made Bread

2011-07-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

June 2010

It's been a difficult little while for me lately. I've been frustrated, mad, sad and just about every other emotion I can think of. I'll be working along doing just fine and then something will remind me of someone I love and I'll run into a brick wall of sorrow. It's something that I just can't seem to climb over or go around despite the amount of time that has already taken place. Other times I'll get frustrated with how things just don't seem to want to cooperate with me on even the most simplest of things. I've been plagued with feelings of inferiority and worthlessness all while knowing that I'm not these things and that I am valued and of great worth. However, it's just not as easy to banish the negative feelings as I would like. I'm frustrated with my soap business, my writing and my own impatiences (not to mention the other frustrations that come with motherhood). I know what's happening to me. I'm being tried and tested. However, knowing that just doesn't automatically make it easier.

I don't need anyone to tell me it's going to be all right. I don't need anyone to tell me to just take things one day at a time. Despite all the well meaning sentiments that people can express, these things just simply do not help because I know them already. I'm living them to the best of my ability. What I do need is a long, quiet and solitary walk in the woods.

Things aren't always bad however. This morning I managed to write a full two pages of my book amongst the several interruptions I had. Baby Boy woke up at 4:20, 5:20 and 6:30. The little stinker! That was a significant improvement to the grand total of three sentence I was able to write the day before. I also was able to make some bread. I haven't been able to make bread in about a month and so our family has been surviving on store bought bread. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just that there is something remarkable soothing about the process of making bread. When I make bread for my family it's as if I really am capable of nourishing and strengthening my family. When I made bread today, it was as if all was right in the world again and that if I could only continue to make bread, everything would be all right.

Jesus taught that he is the bread of life and that if people believe and follow Him, they will have everlasting life. Just as bread nourishes our body, Christ nourishes our soul. I know that no matter how difficult things can get for me, He can take away my sorrow and my pain and make my burdens light. Probably one of the best things that has happened in the last few weeks is that while I have been striving to wake up early so that I can write, it also has given me the quiet time I have needed to study the scriptures before I start my day. I have been able to study the New Testament again and refocus on the things that Jesus taught.

So while I do at times wallow in self pity, I do know that I am extremely blessed. I have the love of countless friends and family and of my Savior. And, no matter how hard things can get, I can always make bread.

P.S. As I was writing this post, Little Boy decided to cut his own slice of bread!

Happy Independence Day

2011-07-04T10:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day

July 2011 Soaping Newsletter

2011-06-30T22:32:00.000-07:00

This month I decided to have the newsletter come out at the beginning of the month instead of the end. With that I have a few announcements:

1. Thank you everyone for becoming a fan of Simply McGhie Soaps on facebook. Because we reached our goal of 50 "likes" by Friday, I am giving away a free bar of soap to. . .

LISA BUNN

(please contact me with what kind of soap you would like to try out)

2. Because Independence Day is coming up on the 4th I am offering a 10% off coupon when you order through Etsy from now until 12:00pm PST. The code is. . .

JULY4SALE

Remember also that if you are a local (here in Fresno or Clovis) then I also offer a free shipping coupon. Just convo me through Etsy or email me at simplymcghie@comcast.net

And now for the soaps.

Coming in July

Already Available

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. Thank you and have a wonderful day!

A Sneak Peek: French Milled Wake Up Rosemary

2011-06-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

You may be saying, "It looks so rough and bumpy." Well let me just tell you that this soap is amazing! When you lather it, it is silky smooth and the scent. . . AMAZING! I used the "Wake Up Rosemary," blend from my favorite supplier and this is what they say about it.

Wake Up Rosemary Blend: This unique blend of Rosemary is made up of 30% essential oils; Peppermint, Cornmint and Rosemary. You'll love the other unique and subtle notes of Lily of the Valley, Lavender, Eucalyptus and Musk. Forget the coffee, this blend is sure to wake you right up!

I added the fragrance blend during the French Milling process to ensure that every little note stayed in the soap and the result. . . AMAZING! Have I mentioned that this soap is amazing? What is even more wonderful about this soap is that it will be available in my Etsy shop TOMORROW!

Also, just as a little aside, my end of the month newsletter is going to be a beginning of the month newsletter. So, tomorrow my July Soaping newsletter will be coming out too and there may just be another special little surprise! Oh, and I'm on facebook now. "Like" Simply McGhie Soaps and if we reach fifty people by tomorrow I'll be doing another soap giveaway.

Here are some more picture of the "Wake Up Rosemary" soap.

Blessings Of Doing Family History/Genealogy

2011-06-22T12:19:00.000-07:00

Well I have held off on talking about this for a little while but now it's time to tell you all. I have always been interested in family history/genealogy and have researched as often as I've been able to. Well, through a series of prompting, prayers and patience, several miracles have happened in our recent months. Because of time I will limit my telling to just a few.

One, a large portion of family history has been placed in my lap in the form of two photo albums filled with old (very old) family pictures and files (computer kind, not paper) full of research. This gift has come from my grandma Lee and is something I already treasure.

Two, I have found a cousin I never knew I had. He is my dad's first cousin, and my grandpa's nephew. AND guess this, he's a member of the church. WOW, amazing. We talked on the phone after we first found each other and it was a wonderful experience. We've been able to get to know each other through e-mail and just this last weekend he and his wife came to visit us. It was so wonderful to meet them and because my grandma was there with the family history books, we were able to look at old pictures of our family together and hear some of the family stories. It was really a wonderful day.

So see, there are very definite temperal blessings to doing your family history. I just never dreamed that they would be so amazing. Now I have some help in doing family history research and I've gained some new family and friends. We will definitely be keeping in touch.

Little Boy Drawings

2011-06-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

I love that Little Boy is starting to draw pictures and that you can actually figure out what they are. The one on the bottom middle is of a person holding a sword and a shield. The top one was done on the computer and is basically the same thing. What is really cute about this is that one of the things we would draw for him a lot was a stick figure boy that we'd name after him and we'd draw a sword and a "CTR" shield. He loved it and would then proceed to tell us a story about the boy with the sword and shield and some of the stories would be quite cute. Now he draws his own boy with a sword and shield and tells us stories to go along with his own picture. I have a feeling he's going to be a lot of fun once he actually gets into kindergarten.

A Sneak Peek: Chocolate Collection

2011-06-20T07:10:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Swirl, Rich Chocolate, Chocolate Mint

One of my latest projects. . . available in July.

Indications That You Are Raising A Boy. . .

2011-06-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

. . . you find these at the bottom of the wash.

Little Girl Turns Three

2011-06-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post this, but Little Girl turned three years old on Tuesday. We celebrated her birthday on Sunday at the bishop's house because all the people we would have wanted to get together with would already be there for break the fast. So, it was really nice and convenient. I made her birthday cake from scratch and if it looks familiar it's because it's the same cake I made for her when she turned one.

What a beauty she is. She has been one of the greatest blessings in my life.

Grumblings

2011-06-01T14:49:00.000-07:00

I saw on someone's facebook today that they posted a long string of "rants" and not to make fun of their plight, I did laugh at some of them. I think ranting sometimes can be good for you because you get your frustrations out in the open and then can move on with your life. I actually rant a lot. I just don't often post it here and believe it or not, most of my rants are kept to myself or are seen in the form of grumblings on facebook. (Wow, I think I'm developing some new lingo here.) So why don't I "rant" here a little bit for your entertainment.

You see those beautiful little eggs? Well those are dove eggs and not the delicious chocolate kind that comes out at Easter. These are the kind that come from real doves that are dumb enough the build a nest on a moving vehicle if given the chance. No, really, they are that dumb. I have seen them try it. Well, doves also like to build nests in hanging flower baskets crushing the flowers in the process. I wasn't paying attention for a couple hours one day last week and in that time a pair of doves managed to build a flimsy nest and lay some eggs. Well because I'm also married to Bryce, a man who really doesn't like these little birds, he made me throw the eggs in the trash. Shhhh, don't tell the kids. I felt ok about doing this until the momma dove came back and was crying because her babies were gone. Yep, I totally felt like the scum of the earth for that one.

Now this next picture looks pretty mild compared to what we actually saw coming home from a nice day on Monday. Imagine a shredded house plant and a broken pot littering the floor as well. Yes, that is dirt on my piano keys and all over the floor. What the picture doesn't show is the dirt flung all over the living room or the large dent that is now on my almost 100 year old piano. What happened? My cat Teancum decided he wanted a snack is what happened.

Is the cat still alive? Yes but I really don't like him right now. To make matters worse he is still attacking me at every turn. Why is he still around? Good question. Does it make me a bad person if we get rid of him because I'm tired of dealing with him? Remember, I am the scum of the earth after all for throwing away those dove eggs.

And now onto my last little rant (but not really the last since I'm only sharing a few here). I seem to be in the habit of breaking cooking utensils. I especially love to break spatulas apparently. This is the second one I've broken. I'm be right in the middle of mixing chocolate chips into some cookie dough and the handle will snap, break right in half. Yes, that's right both times were when I was making chocolate chip cookies. Well there's my problem. Maybe I should stop making them. . . no that won't solve my problem. Maybe I just need to invest in steel cooking utensils. That should work.

Ok, I'm done. Have a nice day.

End of May Soaping Newsletter

2011-05-27T11:20:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Well it's time for the end of the month soaping newsletter. May has been an interesting month and I have learned A LOT! Probably the number one thing that I learned is how much your suppliers can affect your productivity. I was at a dead stop for most of the month of May because I was out of a few key ingredients and my ingredient suppliers (who I absolutely love) were out of those same key ingredients that I was needing. So for most of the month of May, my etsy shop was sitting with just one or two items in it. Well not anymore! I currently have 4 items in my shop with 4 more coming in June. All prices are the prices listed on esty.

As always, if you are a local and would like to not pay shipping (in person pick-ups/drop offs) send me a message at simplymcghie@comcast.net and we will work something out. I have a free shipping code that you can use through etsy as well.

Now on to the soap!

Lavender Beauty

$3.25

Hand Milled Oatmeal Goat Milk Soap
$2.25

Cocoa Butter and Poppy Seed

$3.20

New Blackberry Peach

$3.00

Coming in June:

Simply Goats Milk

available June 6th

Mild Orange Shaving Soap

available June 13th

Touch of Vanilla (small)

available June 16th

Touch of Vanilla (large)

available June 16th

Ocean Rain

available June 21st

If you are interested in trying out some felted soap check out

Hogg Wild Fibers

All her soap is felted with soap from my shop!

Bonding

2011-05-25T12:29:00.000-07:00

Spinning

2011-05-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

Remember last week when I said I was learning something new? Well here it is! I had bought this beautiful wool roving on Etsy to use in trying out making felted soap. Well I used some to felt the soap and it was fun but turned out to not really be something I wanted to get into for my soap business. You never know until you try something right? Anyway, after making some felted soap I had all this beautiful roving left over that I did not want to go to waste. Soooo, I looked into it some and decided to try spinning it into yarn. I also was not going to spend a lot of money on this so I found a tutorial on how to make your own drop spindle. What you see below is the spindle I made as well as some yarn in progress.

Here is a close up of the yarn. As you can see, this drop spindle is kind of small for the project that I have undertaken. If I ever buy roving again to spin into yarn, I think I'll make a much bigger spool.

And here is my first finished skein of yarn a couple of days later. The pictures not that great because the yarn is much more beautiful in person. I still have a lot more yarn to spin so I'll show you the finished bundles later.

Over all I really like spinning my own yarn but I highly doubt that I'll be investing in a spinning wheel any time soon. It's always good to learn something new and now I know that in the future if I ever have my own sheep or get wool from someone, that I'll be able to make something useful. This is one more skill to mark off my emergency preparedness and survival check list.

Six Months

2011-05-20T09:28:00.000-07:00

Guess who's six months old today!

Something New

2011-05-17T23:15:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy of www.breezymeadowsfarm.com

I am learning an ancient craft

something new for me

because I don't know how to do enough already

and it has something to do with this.

More details to come later.

:-)

Have a nice day!

"Come What May and Love It"

2011-05-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

"Come What May and Love it." by Elder Wirthlin is one of those talks that have really stuck with me over the last few years. Maybe it's the title or this repeated phrase of the talk that helps me to remember it. Come what may and love it. Come what may and love it. . .

Well, it's May. It's hard to believe that it's May. It's now been one year since Bryce became the second councilor in the bishopric. It's amazing to me all the things that have transpired in this very fast year. Some of it has been wonderful and amazing while some of it has been horrible and heartbreaking. I try very hard to only remember the good that has happened but often when I least expect it the bad will creep back to my mind and my heart will break all over again because of what has happened. In one particular instance I simply can not love it BUT I have learned from it. I think that's the important part anyway.

I remember saying in a blog post a year ago that it felt as though I had begun a new chapter in my life. I'm just now beginning to understand how much of an understatement that was. In a lot of ways I am the same person I was a year ago with many of the same struggles. However, this past year has changed my life in profound ways and has brought innumerable blessings. I hope that I have taken this year that Heavenly Father has given me and grown a little closer to the person He would have me be. I hope I have become a person who is more loving, who has more compassion and better understanding. If there was one thing that was a reoccurring theme throughout the year it would be charity. Perhaps it was the calling of being in the Relief Society presidency where "Charity Never Faileth" is more then just the theme but a way of life, that helped me. Or perhaps it was the fact that I was the recipient of so many kind acts of service. Charity truly is the pure love of Christ.

I am grateful for this past year. I am grateful for all of my many blessings. I am grateful for a husband who lets me be who I am (not that he would have any say in that anyway :-) and I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who teaches me continually and guides me to greater paths.

And I should probably go now. Bryce just walked in the door and it's after 10:30pm.

Shamrock

2011-05-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

I know it is long since past St. Patrick's Day, but the shamrocks that I've planted in one of my planters have really taken off beautifully. So, I thought I'd share.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-07T19:39:00.001-07:00

Have I Mentioned I Love This Guy?

2011-05-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

I'll start this off my emphasizing that I love all of my kids. All three of them. They each bring something special and unique into our home and amaze me daily how they grow and learn. With that being said, I do have a favorite. I know, I'm horrible. As a mother I'm not suppose to have a favorite. But at the moment I really do. This little guy is special. I knew for a very long time that this baby was coming into our lives I just didn't know when. I think that's part of what made having a miscarriage easier to bear. It was still very hard but I knew that he was coming. I just knew it.

I think, and my friend Natalie would probably agree with me, that as special and wonderful as your first and second children are, there is just something about the third child that makes the experience of being a mother a little more meaningful. Maybe it's the wading through the tides with the first two, not knowing what in the heck you are doing, missing a lot while you try to not make any mistakes and just over all feeling overwhelmed and unprepared for just how difficult this mothering thing is. Maybe it's the advantage of hind sight. With the first two you don't realize how fast time is slipping by until BOOM, you are registering your first for kindergarten. Then, out of no where, your little girl is turning three. I think that by the time the third kid comes along you understand just how precious each and every moment with them is.

Babies are wonderful. They are rather simple in their needs. They need to feel loved, they need to be fed, cleaned and sheltered. For the most part they are happy to just be with you all day long. Yes they do cry and are messy but even then, some cuddles, a changing and a feeding usually (emphasis on usually) will be all they need to be the beautiful smiling angels in your life. As babies, they haven't learned to fight with their siblings yet, they don't defy you when you ask them to do something (probably because they are too young for you to ask them to do something) and when you feed them they are usually (again, emphasis on the usually) happy with whatever you give them.

Babies are fascinating. They are capable of intense focus and observation. True, their attention span may not be very long, but when they study something, it is with such deep focus and thinking as if it were the first time they had ever seen what they are looking at. Oh wait, sometimes it is the first time! Every little thing is a new experience for them. Everything from the sound of birds or the feel of a ribbon on a blanky is new and worthy of closer attention. Their attention to even the tiniest of things reminds you of all the wonders this world of ours has to offer.

I think it is for these reasons that my little Baby Boy is my favorite at the moment. Right now all he wants is me and that's pretty easy to give to him.

Baby Boy

2011-05-03T19:48:00.000-07:00

Here are two of my favorite pictures from this week.

Yes, he's always this cute.

As long as Mommy's close by. . .

He sure knows how to make me feel loved.

Monday Wash Day

2011-05-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

"It's too bright to open my eyes!"

It's Monday and according to old tradition, it is wash day.

I thought I'd give it a try.

Product Promotion: Felted Soap

2011-04-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

images used with permission by Marcella Hogg

Are you looking for something new and fun to try out?

Well try out some Felted Soap!

My new friend Marcella of Sling A Bye Baby and The Little Ballerina, has taken my soap and done something wonderful with it. . . FELTED IT!

Do you want to know where you can get it?

Well on
May 7th from 9:00am to 3:00pm
this soap as well as other beautiful and amazing stuff made by Marcella,
will be available at a craft show at
The Tulare Church of God
159 S "A" St

That's all the info I have for you but if you happen to be in that neck of the woods you might want to stop by and see what this craft show has to offer. Well that's all for now. Have a wonderful weekend!

Lavender Soap

2011-04-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

I am very excited about this soap. My last batch of lavender soap was nice but this stuff is ten times better! And look how pretty it is. This will be available after May 27th.

Ok, I can't resist. Here are some more pictures.

Pre-Cut

Ok, have a nice day!

Easter Angels

2011-04-26T22:01:00.000-07:00

best picture of Easter 2011

I wish I could say that our Easter was the best one we've ever had. Waking up Sunday morning to a stolen car is not really the nicest thing to have to deal with. Having late church also puts a damper on the Easter celebrations. However as I have said on this blog before, there are no perfect days, just perfect moments. We were still able to have an enjoyable time with family and appreciate what we were celebrating for.

This April has been an amazing month. Well maybe it's been an amazing past three or four months. I have learned so much. I still have so much to work on, but I have felt God's influence in my life so strongly this last little while. It's a little hard to describe. I feel like I have been stretched and pushed and lifted and shaped. . . I hope I am becoming a little more of the person the Lord wants me to be. I hesitate to talk about some of the things that have been happening in my life because of the deep personal nature of them. But I will say that I have learned or had reaffirmed to me two great things. One, Heavenly Father knows me, knows the desires of my heart and loves me so much. Two, He trusts me. He trusts me and believes in me. I have always jokingly said that I'm superwoman and can do anything I put my mind to. Well. . . with God, I really can.

Happy Easter Everyone!

End of April Soaping Newsletter (Update)

2011-04-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

Well I've been in business for almost a month and I have nearly doubled the goal I set out to make for this month. A HUGE thank you to all those who have helped to make this first month a surprising and wonderful success. In fact, I nearly sold out of everything I had. I do still have three types of soap available. One of them I just listed on Etsy this morning.

I have:

~~English Rose~~ (SOLD OUT)

a dye free, 4oz. bar of Cold Process Soap

~~Just Peachy~~ (SOLD OUT)

a dye free, 3oz. bar of Cold Process Soap

and new this morning. . .

Oatmeal Goat Milk

ONLY 6 BARS LEFT!
a dye free and Fragrance free, 4.5 oz. bar of Hand Milled Soap

(offered at a discounted price)

And as always, if you order through Etsy I can offer you a free shipping code if you are a local friend so that you don't have to pay for shipping and can get your soap in person. Also if you are a local and would prefer not to pay through Etsy you can contact me at simplymcghie@comcast.net and we can work something out.

Coming up in the month of May:

Cocoa Butter and Poppy Seed Scrub Soap!

Look for more soap announcements in the coming weeks!

Another Picture From Monday

2011-04-20T18:53:00.000-07:00

Here is another picture I took Monday morning.

Keeping Sanity

2011-04-19T18:07:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard the term "Crazy as a chicken?" Well maybe this post has something to do with that. Bryce has been gone, A LOT this month and well it's got me twitching a little bit. This has coincided with the fact that I'm trying really, really, REALLY hard to be more patient with the kids. It's really hard. ANYWAY, I've been doing things this week/last couple of days to keep my sanity a little bit. Sunday after church I hung out at the Dehmel's for a while. Yesterday I went to visit my friend Natalie (and deliver her some soap) out in the country and let the kids play to their hearts content while us girls had a nice chat session. By the way, she has chickens. I named this one "Shutterbug" because he seemed to like his/her picture taken. Little Girl was holding one for a while but I missed getting a picture of it. I know someone who would have loved seeing that.

Then yesterday afternoon I drove up to Mom and Dad McGhie's house and spent the night. It was a nice break and I appreciated the help in getting the kids off to bed (on time for once). It really is so much easier getting them to bed when there is someone else there to help you. Today we hung out up there, played outside and just enjoyed being in a beautiful place. This was taken early this morning.

Well the month is almost over. Baby Boy will be five months old tomorrow and the time is slipping away. I may be going slightly insane but I'm trying to enjoy life with these precious little guys. It definitely is easier when we're out of the city. Anyway I've got to go give the kids a bath. I think Little Boy brought home half the mountain with him.

Backyard Archeology Continues

2011-04-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

The backyard archeology continues with our latest find. . .

A ring!

To find out what other interesting things we have found in our backyard, take a look HERE!

What Happens When You Take Pictures Of Kids

2011-04-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

Easter Countdown

2011-04-14T09:50:00.000-07:00

On Monday for Family Home Evening I gave a brief lesson on what Easter was and then we went for a walk. Since at that time it was 14 days until Easter I decided that it would be nice to come up with 14 things we were grateful to the Savior for or things that we have because of Him. So while we were walking I wrote down on a piece of paper what we came up with. Last night I was finally about to get around to what I was going to do with this list. I made 14 eggs out of watercolor paper and wrote on them the things we came up with.

Now each day until Easter we can pull one from the jar and tape it to the mantle of our fireplace where we can see it. I'll show you after Easter what the finished countdown looks like.

I sort of got the idea HERE but adapted it to something I thought would work out a little better for our family.

Hopefully this will help us focus on the real reason for the season. Happy Easter Everyone!

500th Post! And So Much To Catch Up On!

2011-04-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

Things have been so busy for me and I have fallen so behind in blogging, and housework and other things in my life. Starting a business while taking care of little ones can be a bit challenging. Hopefully most of the difficult part is past. I shouldn't have to make any more trips the the Board of Equalization or City Hall for a while. Now I just need to talk to my insurance agent and see if I need to get extra insurance for my little (very little) at home business.

Well onto what you really care about (if you really do). Bryce ran in a race at the end of last month. It was the Great Race of Agura Hills. He actually did pretty good in his age group for not having done any training. It was the first race he'd done in a very long time. Baby Boy and I were sick at the time or else we would have been there cheering him on. There are some better pictures of him running on the website but we didn't want to pay for them. . .

While we were there visiting for the race Aunt Tera had some gifts for the kids. Take a look at this adorable little play dress. Little Girl loves it! Thank you Aunt Tera :-)

One of Little Boy's favorite movies is the Sandlot and we think it's because of all the baseball that's in it. This little guy has really turned into a baseball fanatic. Well last Wednesday he got it into his head that someone was coming to get him and take him to go play baseball. Sooo, he got himself dressed in his baseball shirt and hat, grabbed his glove and sat on the front porch waiting for someone to come. I tried to convince him that no one was coming but he was persistent.

At one point he even got up and started walking away. He said to me "Bye Mom, gatta go play ball," and then started walking down the sidewalk. When Bryce got home from work we were still waiting on the porch (I didn't dare leave him alone) but Little Boy didn't want to play catch with Daddy because someone was coming to get him and they were going to play baseball. . . We ended up going to the store a while later for some stuff and got him a baseball bat. Boy did we have a happy kid on our hands.

This past Friday and Saturday I went to "Time Out For Women" and had an absolute wonderful time. Friday night we were actually up pretty close to the front and I got this picture of John Bytheway. This was probably the best picture I got so I didn't take anymore. Anyway, I'll probably do another post about this later. I'm still digesting everything from it.

Well that's all I can really blog about right now. I've got the never ending housework to do and I'm trying really, really. . . really hard to not loose patience with the two oldest kids right now. They seem to know that Daddy isn't coming home today and therefore want to make me go insane.

A Good Day

2011-03-31T22:23:00.000-07:00

Today has been one of those wonderful days that you know right from the moment you wake up that your life will be different and amazing and spectacular. What happened you are asking? Well I'll tell you. I awoke to a cooing and smiling baby who squealed in delight as I picked him up. The sun was shining BRIGHTLY with not a cloud in the sky (not that I have anything against clouds. . . they are beautiful and peaceful and bring rain and inspiration). I hung sheets out on the closes line. I saved Bryce a trip to the DMV because it's Cesar Chavez Day and it would have been closed. I didn't get the dishes done until after noon but didn't stress about it. We went as a family to home depot and picked up flowers and tomatoes. I gained a deeper insight into God's love for us and how He truly knows us as individuals. Baby Boy and I spent time on the front porch enjoying the quiet and sights that are new and exciting to a baby. Scripture time with the kids was wonderful. After kids were in bed I used the rest of the daylight to plant previously mentioned flowers (I didn't get it all done but that just means I get the spread the joy into another day). I watched a really good movie. Have you seen Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium? If you haven't you should. My list of good things just keeps going. In fact, here are some phrases from the day that I love:

"Relief Society is evidence of God's love for us." -Visiting Teaching Message March 2011

"Let your soul delight in fatness," -2 Nephi 9:51 (ok, maybe taken a little out of context but it made me smile)

"May I suggest you stun the world," Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

"Life is an occasion. Rise to it!" -also Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

And there you have it! My very incomplete list of the LITTLE THINGS that made today a wonderful, beautiful, spectacular, marvelous, exciting day.

Now Open For Business

2011-03-30T01:00:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to announce (and a tad bit nervous) that. . .

The Simply McGhie Shop is

NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS!!!

We are currently offering two practice soaps* at a special discount price.

As an added bonus you will receive a free sample of an upcoming soap with your order.

If you are a local and know me personally and would like to pick up your order in person, send me a message and I'll give you a special coupon code for free shipping.

More soap varieties will be offered in the coming weeks.

*About Practice Soaps: Practice soaps are where we have tried out a new recipe and for what ever reason the soap has minor flaws or isn't as visually appealing. Practice soaps are still wonderful to use and gives you the opportunity to try a soap at a discounted price.

Really Big News!

2011-03-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

The Simply McGhie Shop on Etsy is almost open for business!

Learning Sign Language

2011-03-21T18:01:00.000-07:00

We had a friend over for dinner yesterday who is deaf and Little Boy was having fun learning some sign language.

Checking Things Off

2011-03-16T16:16:00.000-07:00

I've been up to a lot of things lately. Most of them have revolved around checking projects off my list of things I've felt I needed to finish before I could concentrate on my writing. One of those things was finishing the diapers I've been working on since before Baby Boy was born. Yesterday afternoon I finally finished 18 size small cloth diapers. What a relief! We've gone most of the day today in these things with no leaks. HURRAY!!! Now onto finishing typing up my recipes for my recipe book. This is a book of all my favorite, tried and true recipes. I'm hoping to crank through that pretty fast.

Another thing I've been doing is working on our garden. This year we had a fabulously working rotor-tiller which made tearing up the ground a cinch. In fact, I didn't have to do any or it. My job this year has been nurturing seedlings into plants to plant into the garden. This is broccoli that I started from seed. We don't have much planted yet in our garden because of the still cooler weather but I think this is going to be one of our better gardening years. . . hopefully. (Please oh please oh please)

Last week I took the kids to the zoo for their very first time with a group of friends. We've tried to take them for the past two years and I just finally had to set a date and stick to it. Of course that meant that Bryce missed the kid's first zoo trip but we plan on going again soon. I just really wanted to do something special for the kids for finally finishing going through the alphabet for the preschool project.

And finally, today I have slowed down a little bit to enjoy the weather. It's cloudy, sprinkly and windy. It's the kind of day that reminds me of my grandma's house in the mountains where I grew up. I was fond of going on walks on days like this. Well maybe with a little less wind. I love being outside on days like this and to feel the crisp air and see the vibrant greens. I don't know if you know this but green is my absolute favorite color. I love blue too but if I had to pick just one, it would be green. Green just reminds me of all things good, growing and full of life.

Just Peachy

2011-03-12T14:44:00.000-08:00

Here you go! My Peach soap. The lighting isn't too great with this picture and the full color hasn't developed yet but here is my freshly made "Just Peachy" bar of soap. This is a new recipe that I've tried out using Palm Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Coconut Oil, Canola Oil and Olive Oil. I LOVE how this recipe turned out. It's nice and firm and lathers nicely and feels great. When it's done curing supposedly it will have a soft natural beige color. The scent of this soap is heavenly. It literally smells like the sweetest peach you've ever eaten. I didn't go overboard with the fragrance oil either so it has just the right amount of scent. This batch will be ready April 7th, perfect for spring.

P.S. I have decided to go ahead and open an Etsy shop. I'm not ready to do it yet but I'll let you know when it happens. Have a great weekend. :-)

Missing the Country

2011-03-07T15:16:00.000-08:00

a country home in France

I went to visit my friend Natalie out in the country today and had a wonderful time. Her kids are growing up so much and it was fun to see her littlest one again. I'm going to miss her blog because I could keep up on how her kids were growing. Anyway I think the kids enjoyed it as well. They got to run around and play with other kids their age in the clean country air and beautiful sunshine. It was just a beautiful day. They didn't really want to go home and I understand why. Our house is so small now for them. I'm not the only one feeling cramped in our little house now. I think the kids feel it too. But our house has been wonderful so I'm not going to complain (too much). If we could transplant our house to a country location that would make things better but you really can't to that. Oh well. Someday I'll be in the country/foothills/mountains again and I can have chickens (just for you Natalie :-). In the meantime I'll pretend I don't have neighbors a couple yards away and that I can't hear the freeway, the police helicopters and loud annoying music coming from a neighbor's house.

Soap Craziness!

2011-03-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

OK, so I think I may be going a little crazy with the soap making. My latest one is that one there in the middle. It's a Goat Milk, Oatmeal and Spice soap. This is a recipe that I did before and is so far one of my favorites. I did this one again because one, I'm out of it that's how good it is, and two, I needed a tried and true recipe to test in my wood soap mold. They say third time is the charm and with the wood mold it definitely is. This soap turned out PERFECT! Here are some things I've learned from working with a wood mold:

1. wood molds soak up heat which can be both bad and good. Bad because if your mold is cold it will suck the heat out of your freshly poured soap. . . Good because it will hold heat in and insulate really well.

2. If I warm up the mold it takes care of the problem!

And as an extra bonus, I learned that swirling works better in larger batches. . . less problems with heat loss during mixing that way.

Well there you go, a bunch of soap facts you never wanted to know.

I Forgot!!!

2011-03-03T11:51:00.000-08:00

2008

I forgot about something very special. February 27th was my 3rd Blogaversary! I've really been doing this thing for three years? Wow! Anyway I thought it would be nice to re-post my very first picture that I posted. Funny, but if you look in my backyard it looks just the same. I've got towels hanging in the breeze. Unfortunately, the grass isn't green yet because of some late frosts and I think I'm going to need to put the towels in the dryer because the clouds have come in and it looks like rain.

Lavender Soap

2011-03-02T09:47:00.000-08:00

Well I made my first batch of Lavender soap. While this soap does have some flaws, I'm happy with how it turned out. My swirls were much better then the chocolate bars I made and the only real problem with this soap is that I checked on it too much. I need to just leave the soap alone when I put it to bed. Anyway, I'm still trying to come up with a formula that I like. This one is olive oil, coconut oil and cocoa butter. I think I'm going to order some palm kernel oil today to try out and I think I've got some more research to do. Anyway, this is not a bad attempt for a novice soap maker.

I Love This Little Guy

2011-02-28T15:12:00.000-08:00

This Little Guy is now over 3 months old. Time goes by so quickly. His little personality is starting to really show through now. He is generally always happy and instinctually seems to know who all the great mommies are at church. He is a cuddle bug and empathetic. Whenever Little Girl is upset and starts to cry, he looks at her and starts to cry too. As soon as she is happy again and smiling at him, he gets happy too. He loves to stand and bounce and do just about anything except sit on our lap when we are working at the computer. With the exception of sleeping at night he is such an easy going baby. Compared to his brother and sister, he is such an easy little guy.

This was his outfit yesterday at church. He is just growing up way too fast.

For Andi

2011-02-26T10:15:00.000-08:00

This is for you Andi!

I saw the clouds this morning and thought of you.

See you soon :-)

Orange Marmalade, The Preschool Project and Oreo Truffles

2011-02-24T08:46:00.000-08:00

You might be wondering what these three things have in common. Nothing really except that they are all labors of love. Yesterday I made Orange Marmalade. It was my first time making it in a really long time. The last and only other time I made this was in the 8th grade as one of the winter activities while everyone else was off skiing or ice skating. As it was, my first batch yesterday was definitely a learning experience. I think my second batch was a lot better because I discovered an easier way of doing something then the recipe said. I love doing that. I tried to take a really awesome picture with the sun back lighting the jars so you could see the beautiful color, but the sun wasn't cooperating so you'll just have to settle for this. :-)

The other thing I did yesterday was preschool with the kids. I have been so bad lately with it. It's probably because it's usually always the same thing even though the kids love it. Well yesterday I decided to change it slightly and let the kids paint instead. By the way, Little Boy is getting so good with his letters and sounds and is starting to actually read small words my sounding them out. He is just so eager to learn and is absorbing everything like a sponge right now. I'm really bummed that he wasn't picked (it's a lottery) for Bullard Talent because I really think he would have done amazing there. Now instead he will be going to one of the fine Fresno Unified Schools (insert syrupy sarcasm). It really makes me wish we could afford to move before the school year starts or that we had the money to send him to a private school. He is so smart and I naturally want him to have the best we can provide.

Now onto the Oreo Truffles! I made these delicious little bites of goodness for Valentine's Day. I never realized how easy these things were to make. Good thing I normally don't buy Oreos or else we'd be eating these things all the time. Now you might be wondering why they are blue. . . well my chocolate melting chips went stale (I know, I didn't know they'd do that either) and I didn't want to ruin the truffles by using them so I used my vanilla chips. I have orange and blue and I thought blue would be a little more Valentine like then the orange. Ok, so there you go. Talk to you later!

Chocolate Swirl Soap

2011-02-21T19:12:00.000-08:00

This is my first attempt at making chocolate soap. The cocoa butter and cocoa powder give this a nice hint of chocolate. What I'm most proud about this soap though is that it's my own recipe that I came up with on my own.

In the future though I think I'd use baker's chocolate instead of cocoa powder and I'd use a fragrance oil to kick up the chocolate scent. My swirling technique could use a little more practice too but over all I'm very happy with how this soap turned out.

A Tree

2011-02-21T19:07:00.000-08:00

Someone at church was getting rid of a tree in their yard and gave it to us! We are excited because now we have a tree in our front yard. We're looking forward to this thing sprouting branches and giving us some shade.

A Soap Mold!

2011-02-17T20:14:00.000-08:00

I have an awesome father-in-law. He made me this amazing soap mold. On Tuesday I had asked him if he had any scrap wood laying around and I tried to explain to him what I was wanting to do with it. Last night after dinner I showed him my soap book that had some instructions for making a soap mold, he took the book home with him and then came up with something ten times better. I'm so excited about this. It can come completely apart and I can adjust it to whatever size mold I need. And isn't it pretty? Thank you so much Dad/Glen!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

2011-02-16T10:04:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Moments of Sweetness: Near Heaven

2011-02-13T19:25:00.000-08:00

I don't normally get on the computer on Sundays but I wanted to share a wonderful experience with you while it was still fresh in my memory. Lately I've been making an effort to include music and hymns in my life a little more and with that I've started listening to church type music on the way to and from church. One of the CDs I have in the car is a CD that Little Boy got at the beginning of the year in Primary. Today was the first time we listened to it. Well we were listening to it and it was nice and quiet and peaceful in the car when suddenly I hear a little quiet voice in the seat behind me singing along to songs I didn't even know he knew. Little Boy sang so sweetly and peacefully. It really was a special moment for me as I listened to the words he sang. That moment brought me a little nearer to Heaven and set the tone for the rest of the day. Little Boy may not have known it, but he helped me feel the spirit and know of the Savior's love for me.

Some Randomness

2011-02-11T19:46:00.000-08:00

This girl loves to dance!

Apple Bobbing

Watercolor Garland

Here is a little bit of my randomness from this week. Well the watercolor garland isn't from this week, but close enough. I got the idea for the Garland from one of my favorite blogs Garden Mama. Enjoy life!

Garden Surprise

2011-02-08T08:43:00.000-08:00

I mentioned the other day on facebook that I walked out to my garden and found several bunches of romain and red leaf lettuce growing from seeds of last year's plants. I was so excited that I didn't even notice the dill. Yesterday when I was weeding I discovered this little gem and spent the rest of the time trying to get the kids to not step on it. So I decided that instead of fending them off, I would just transplant this little guy, as well as some lettuce, to a safer location. This way we can also rotor till the garden and get it ready for the spring planting. I'm excited for this spring's garden. We are adding peppers into the mix as well as a different variety of cucumber (one that's more suitable for pickling) and tomato (one that yields bigger tomatoes that are better for canning.) Hopefully this year Little Boy won't kill the cucumbers.

Oatmeal, Milk and Honey

2011-02-07T09:42:00.000-08:00

This is my latest experiment in the world of soap making. I didn't really have a recipe so I just had to kind of figure one out. This is an oatmeal, goat milk and honey soap. The soap turned out pretty good but isn't sell worthy. That's ok though because I'm still learning and perfecting the art. Oh, I didn't tell you? I'm throwing around the idea of making and selling soap as a side job to earn a little extra money. The biggest thing will be for me to develop my own formula and a way to make my soap stand out. If any of my local friends would like to be product testers to give me a little feed back and what you think you might like in a homemade gourmet soap, just let me know. I'm suppose to be getting some new supplies of scents, essential oils and butters tomorrow and possibly will be making some more soap to start testing out. I may be ready to have people start trying this stuff out by the second or third week of March.

What I like about soap making vs. sewed products like diapers is that I can spend just a little time and have an abundance of soap vs. spending at least an hour on one thing. Spending less time allows me more time to spend on more important things. I'm sure most of you understand :-)

Ok, well that's it for now. Enjoy the beautiful day!

Hello Mr. Sunshine

2011-02-02T18:19:00.000-08:00

Today was a beautiful day. We played outside and went for a walk. Daddy washed the car and we played with sidewalk chalk.

We caught some rays on this beautiful day and smiled all our cares away.

We met a neighbor, a mommy with two kids who's looking for some fun.

We got along as we sang some songs and now this rhyme is done.

Ok, all silliness put aside, today was so nice. It was just the break I needed to re-charge for the next full week of fog. At least that's what the weather man says. And I'm excited about meeting the new neighbor. She has a little boy who is Little Girl's age and her youngest is the same age as Baby Boy. We might get together for a play date and get to know each other. Ok, gatta go give my kids a bath. Hope your day was great too!

A Favorite

2011-01-31T22:19:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken at the vineyard a couple of years ago. I think it was 2009. . . Anyway, it has always been one of my favorite vineyard pictures and especially one of my favorite of Bryce. It was taken early in the morning and the sun was rising over the hills. I like it because of the symbolism I see in it. I know what you are thinking, here we go with the analyzing again. . .but look at it for a while and I think you will know what I mean.

FYI, this picture wasn't staged. It wasn't until after I got home and uploaded my pictures to the computer that I realized how special this picture was.

Some Pictures

2011-01-28T14:39:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from the last two weeks that make me smile. Happy Friday!

Bringing Up the Downs

2011-01-25T22:03:00.000-08:00

Little Girl 2009

Maybe this is what I need:

the sunshine
giggling kids playing outside
sheets hanging up on the clothes line
a garden to watch grow
my skinnier body (it's coming)
my long hair again (well, maybe not that)
and the singing birds with the rising sun.

It sounds like I need Spring.

Numb

2011-01-22T22:47:00.000-08:00


Me as a carefree young single adult up at Florence Lake

Today started out as a difficult day for me. Bryce was working in the vineyard so it was just me and the kids. Little Girl was being especially difficult, I was feeling overwhelmed with all the things I need to get done in the next couple of days and I probably spent the greater part of the morning crying, trying to calm a very upset Baby Boy and utterly feeling sorry for myself. My mind felt so numb and I kept thinking how inadequate I was.

I'll be very honest here and say that I'm burned out. I'm tired. I used to have things pretty well together. I had a routine where my house was mostly clean every day and I had the spare time to devote to being creative. Now I'm lucky if the dishes get done or if I manage to get the laundry put away. Actually now that I think about it, I'm lucky if I manage to change out of my pajamas and bath robe. I know. . . I'm such a stereotype.

Now it may seem like I'm complaining and maybe I am a little but to be honest I know that it's ok to have a messy house and to be frustrated at times. I have three little ones who need all of my time. What I AM complaining about is how numb I seem to always feel lately. Most my days are spent doing the same thing, feed kids, yell at kids, cleaning up messes, repeat. People always are asking us if we are going to have any more kids. When I look at Baby Boy and I see how wonderful and precious he is, I say "of course I want more kids." However when Little Boy and Girl spend most their days fighting and tormenting each other and me, I find myself thinking, "of course I want more kids but only if they won't scream, fight, or defy me."

You know I don't think I really every realized how hard the job of being a parent would be. It is the hardest thing I've every done in my life. Bryce and I work so hard at trying to teach our kids to be good kids. When the kids fight or talk back to us it feels like a failure in a way, like we aren't doing a good enough job teaching them. I find myself loosing patience more easily with them as I've told them time after time that they couldn't have something only to listen to them scream and cry very loudly, seemingly on purpose to wake Baby Boy up and make my life that much harder. I know that it's just typical kid behavior. It's their job to make their parents lives interesting. They are just so much better at their job then I am at mine.

Being a parent has so many wonderful and unexpected rewards that make all the difficult times worth it. I would never give that up for anything. I love my kids and they are my world right now. I just sometimes miss me. I miss all the things I used to be able to do and all the things that make me, me. Is this because I have a two month old, a 2 1/2 year old and a 4 year old? Is this because when my kids are finally tucked away in bed at night I am too exhausted to do anything? Will it get any better? How do you moms out there with three or more kids to it? Do you just put everything on hold until life miraculously gets easier or energy returns? Maybe my problem isn't really about the kids and all the things I need to get done. Maybe it's these things with the added family struggles I'm trying to cope with on top of it all. Timing of things in my life just feel off and that the worst possible things that could happen, happened at the worst possible time in my life for me. This is probably just a case of the baby blues, the family blues and the "I'm expected to be superwoman," blues all mixed together. So how do I do it? Can I go on a vacation? :-) Is it a break that I need? Maybe I just need to go to bed and it will all be over and easier in the morning. Good Night!

Simply McGhie

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