Belly and Two Babies... Both Girls!!

My belly photo at 16 weeks. Still no weight gain. This morning I'm still at -5.5 pounds from when I started. I thought I had gained 2 pounds at one point, but it must have been my lunch or something. Everything is still going smoothly and I am eating like a horse!

She's a girl!! We're now very excited to know the sex and have been looking at names. My husband and I have a list that we are keeping. It's difficult to make a decision. The ultrasound above is from my amniocentesis that was performed on April 21 which came back normal. I think she has my nose. ;)

And now, my other baby. The spoiled kitty who wakes me up every morning just so she can hop in the bed and sleep herself. She's such a bed hog!!

New Soaps!

Ok, I've been a busy little bee this weekend. First, the soap above is ready for sale. This is a salt spa bar called Beachy and that's exactly what it smells like: clean, salty ocean waves and sand between your toes! To me, this is the perfect scent for a salt spa bar.

Now, my best friend's son loves to come hang out while I make soap, but cold process is not for children because of the dangers associated with sodium hydroxide. He stays out of the kitchen when I'm working with it. So, I decided to give him another option for soapmaking. He made the above soap using a great melt and pour base. This is Champagne & Honey and smells so bubbly and good. I think he did a fabulous job! Don't you?

I made two batches of new salt bars along with a batch of my Spa Rocks salt bars as well. The above bar is Pomegranate and smells delicious! It has notes of dark pomegranate, juicy apple slices, and slights hints of vanilla and musk. A perfect summer soap!


This final soap is also a great summertime fragrance. I call it Sorbet. A stimulating blend of Citrus, including Grapefruit, Lemon and Lime, with hints of fresh Cucumber and Jasmine, and a touch of Pineapple, Blackberry and Champagne. Very fresh!

Sorbet and Pomegranate will be available for sale on May 10th!

In Defense of Food

Michael Pollan, the author of Omnivore's Dilemma, now has a new book out called In Defense of Food. I'm borrowing a copy from a pathologist I work with, but I believe I'll be purchasing a copy of each of these books for myself. I really enjoy how he takes a deeper look into the food industry in the United States and how it could be affecting our choices and (in the long run) our health. After reading Omnivore's Dilemma, I have worked to eat less refined food, but it can be difficult. Relearning how and what I eat is important to me and I believe his books will give me some more insight.

Opening Day For BFF's Son's Baseball Team

This past Saturday was the opening day for my best friend's son's baseball season. It was cold, rainy and muddy. See how happy I look below? I was wearing capris and sandals and we had to finally make a clothing trip to my friend's house for socks, jackets, and dry clothes for some.

The arrow is for those who wanted to see my pregnant belly. Unfortunately, no one got a full body shot of me (thank goodness!) so this is all you get for now. Take my word for it... At 15ish weeks, it's much bigger than I expected it to be! I don't feel bad though because my weight is stable and I have yet to gain anything. This just means the baby is growing, growing, growing!


The team didn't seem to mind the weather. The boy in the back cheesing it up is my best friend's son. He's a total ham and has played t-ball/baseball for about 5 years now. They had him pitching on this day. They didn't win the game, but no one cared. We had muddy, wet children running all over the place!


You see the end result below. Pure exhaustion and probably a restful evening for my friend. ;)

Alternative to Paypal

Here is a new online payment system similar to Paypal called Revolution Money Exchange. They have no fees for accepting payments. It looks very promising. This basically appears to be a bank account of sorts and the bank is First Bank and Trust in Brookings, South Dakota. It's FDIC insured as well. Since you are opening an account with them, they do request your Social Security number.

There is a forum post on Etsy showing all of the sellers who now accept RME.

From their website:

Collect online payments for free when your customers use MoneyExchange.

• It's free to collect online payments from buyers with MoneyExchange.
• Sending and receiving payments online between accountholders is free.
• Online transfers to and from your bank account are free.
• Get $10 for accounts you refer — up to $500.*
• Plus, your customers, can sign up for free, and they will get a $25 bonus** if they open an account before April 15, 2008.

You can click the link below to get more information or sign up for an account.

Wonderful Essential Oil Soap

I've been slacking the past few weeks on the soapmaking (and blogging) front so I wanted to give you all a bit of soap porn. This is a soap I recently purchased from a fellow Soaper Stars Team member, ajscountrycottage. She also has a website at www.ajscountrycottage.com. This is her Garden Mosaic Soap which is fragranced with a lovely blend of ylang ylang, patchouli, sweet orange, basil, clary sage, and black pepper essential oils. I just stepped out of the shower after using this bar and it is heavenly and sensuous. All in all, a beautiful soap!

This gal also makes some awesome candles and lip balms!