Awesome Day!

Today, I stepped out of my comfort zone and I presented at the Colorado Science Conference! I am great at presenting to my students and pretty good at presenting to my fellow teachers. However, I do not do well in front of complete strangers. In fact, my Public Speaking class was nothing short of torture in college! I did actually get better in grad school and presented well, but I still get nervous.

Well, back in the spring I went to the National Science Teaching Conference. I got the idea that if some of those people could present, I could too! I decided to start with the state conference and I was so excited when they accepted my proposal.

My morning didn't start out great. I woke Hayden up when I was getting ready to leave and he was VERY upset that he wasn't going. Then, I was rear ended in Denver. Luckily, there was no visible damage to my car (I will still take it and get it checked out), but the other guy's was pretty messed up. I arrived at the conference a little late, but was really glad I wasn't presenting first!

I set up for the second session with little butterflies in my tummy. I didn't have any problems with set-up, people actually showed up, and I wasn't actually shaking :) I started and as I went I saw people nodding and taking notes, which is very encouraging. At the end, I had some great questions and was able to give some great feedback. I even had a few people stop by to thank me for my ideas and my help!

That makes me feel so good. I can be reasonably sure that I was not one of the terrible presentations I heard people complaining about. I think I'm going to apply for the National Conference and see if I can make it happen!

New Website Is Up!

I have been tired of my old website for awhile now. A lot of work went into the original website and it was fun to see, but I didn't have the ability to easily edit it. I had to give all the changes to the person that maintained my website (which is a close friend, so it wasn't a problem contacting her), but that put a lot of work on her. Plus, I didn't like the fact that I couldn't change anything, we didn't have access to coupon codes, or a host of other features.

We started searching for templates that would fit what I wanted, be customizable (I don't need to look like everyone else), user friendly for me and relatively inexpensive. There are plenty of templates out there, but that "relatively inexpensive" requirement was hard to fill. We did finally find a company that could give us what we wanted!

Switching to this new company required me to switch web hosting companies, so I decided to wait until my old one was up for renewal. That gave us plenty of time to work on what it should look like, get pictures taken, descriptions written and prices updates. Plus, I still have my full-time job and my little monster to care for. It really did take a long time to get it to look right and not all of the glitches have been worked out, but the new site is up and functional! There are a few more descriptions to be added. A few pictures to be taken (or retaken to show new packaging and designs). A few things that will slowly be fixed as we work on it in between all of the other things that must be done. After my last show in December, I will really be sitting down to look over everything and make sure everything is exactly what I want and if I don't want it, it isn't there. However, for anyone in need of a few Honu products for gifts or to keep, the website has everything that is currently available!

I have to say, it really looks pretty darn awesome too!

New Soaps Available!

We are in the process of putting up a new website, so I'm not adding the new seasonal soaps I made to the old one. But, I wanted to share them with you and give you the opportunity to get yours since they won't last long. If you are interested in any of these, feel free to send me an email at hmwalls (at) honunaturals (dot) com, or message me on facebook.

Pumpkin soaps, made from locally grown pumpkin!

Chocolate Pumpkin soap that smells so good you might just need to lather again. Buy two and store one in the closet until you need it, no need for scented fabric softeners :)

Pumpkin Lager is made with beer and pumpkin (it just seemed appropriate), but it smells delicious. The perfect blend of sweet and spicy and yummy! It even comes with a foamy top, just like your lager!

Pumpkin Spice soap is made with cinnamon, ginger, clove, and a touch of orange.

Christmas Soaps

Reindeer Poop is a special gift from Rudolph to anyone you know that should be on the naughty list or anyone you know that loves great smelling handcrafted soap :) Reindeer Poop smells better than you'd think, it is a sugary blend of spruce and vanilla. It even comes with a special poem on the back.

Coming Soon: Cranberry Fig

All seasonal scents can also be special ordered as fizzy tub treats or wax tarts for candle warmers.

In The Mold HP Soap

I have tried hot process soap in the past. While I like that the soap is ready quicker, I haven't been thrilled with the texture of the soap. It always felt a little spongy to me. I have worked really hard to packed the soap down to combat this. The was much mushing of soap, banging of the mold, more mushing, and more banging. But, it just wasn't as smooth and glossy. Although, you can still do very nice swirls...

I read about "In The Mold" hot process and couldn't really try it because the molds I was using were not up to a trip through the oven. I started using a silicone log mold and asked the wonderful BB customer service peeps if it could make it in the oven. They said as long as it was under 200, it would be fine!

So, I made a batch of my Naked Shea soap. Dumped in the mold. Put the mold on a baking sheet. Set my oven for 170. AND in the oven it went. I set the timer for 2 hours, but I ended up checking on it every 15 minutes anyway. After about an hour is had completely gelled (it is a smaller mold) and by an hour and a half, it was starting to bubble. I turned off the oven, left the door closed and pulled the soap out the next morning. It was a little funny looking on top, but it was very solid. I didn't have time to cut it, but I was very concerned. I had seen lots of bubbles and was worried about those staying behind. However, when I cut it that afternoon, it was lovely! No air bubbles at all! Just beautiful, smooth soap that is already hard and completely ready to go. It did feel a little oily on the surface, so I put it on some paper bags to "dry" out.

I have to say that I'm really impressed. I know it won't work for all soaps. 170 is too high for some essential oils and even some fragrance oils, but for unscented soaps or scents with high flash points, this is a great way to get your soaps some quicker.

Last night, I made a batch of Chocolate Pumpkin soap with orange and black swirls. It looks and smells great! I made too much black soap, so the orange is a little hard to see, but that has nothing to do with the oven.

If you want to try the make hot process soap in the mold, here are my tips:

• Double check the flash points for any scents. It should be higher than your oven temp.
• Set your oven between 170-185 and watch your soap the first time. The size of your batch will affect cook time.
• Leave your soap in the oven to cool slowly when cooked.
• Ask your mold maker if it will withstand the oven temps (that would be messy).
• Protect your oven with something under the mold.
• If you try this with a milk or honey soap, come back and tell me how it worked out. I'm nervous about trying it :)
• Remember, one way or another it will be soap, even if it is ugly soap.

Do you have any soap making tips to share?

Big Changes

So, some of you may have noticed that I've been very absent lately. While it is true that I have been really busy with school, that really isn't the only reason.

I have also been struggling and not feeling my best lately. I have been fighting off nausea throughout the day. Sometimes it would last for long periods of time and make me want to curl up in the fetal position under my desk. That will get you some funny looks from the students for sure! Other times, it is mild and passes quickly. I've also been battling fatigue. One day, Hayden and I were sitting downstairs watching Elmo. I feel fast asleep within 2 minutes. Luckily, the toddler decided to wake me after Elmo was over and not get into trouble. I have had nights in which I'm in bed by 8:00! While that sounds great, it means that all of the things I need to do for school and Honu are piling up a bit. I wasn't lying when I said I'm constantly behind. I really am because I often don't have the energy to do what I need to; it is all I can do to get under the covers before I fall asleep.

What other problems have I been having? Let's see, my multivitamin makes me sick because it makes me burp icky fishy something. My pants are starting to get too snug. It doesn't matter what I do, they are just getting more and more snug and I don't really want to get a wardrobe. I can't take a long hot soak in the tub. I can't have caffeine. I'm not supposed to be gaining any weight, so I'm supposed to avoid carbs, but eats lots of low-fat protein and veggies. I have a toddler that thinks the best game is to jump on mommy, but that is suddenly more painful than it was. I tried making soap the other night and the scent made me sick so I had to stop (maybe I should make some more ginger soap).

I know some of you have already figured out what all of this means, but for those of you who haven't quite gotten there...I am pregnant. Hayden will be a big brother in April. We are very excited and I'm working on dealing with the side-effects. I'm almost 12 weeks along, so hopefully most of the symptoms will let up through my second trimester. That will get me through my busiest season! Past that, we will have to see what life brings.

Thank you for your patience and support through this. I promise, I'm not neglecting you or my soaps. I'm just making sure I take a little bit more care of us :)

Declutter Challenge: Update

I know I haven't posted an actual weekly update in a while, but there is a good reason. It isn't just that I've been busy. Really, we're all busy, there are just times when we happen to be busier than others.

I have been decluttering! I promise. The reason I haven't posted an update does have to do with having little extra time, but it also has to do with the fact that right now everything is just random odds and ends that I'm finding. I have a box sitting the office area (yeah, like that isn't clutter!) and I just dump stuff in it when I decide it should go.

For example, last week I pulled two shirts out of my closet and in they went to the box. I pulled a pair of ripped pants out and put those in the trash. I pulled out a pair of not-so-warm gloves and they went into the box. I have added several other things that I just picked up and moved. The box is almost full, so it will be donated soon.

I don't have a picture to share, so I'm distracting you with a toddler and a puppy!

So, I really haven't had an update to give you because I haven't spent a lot of time on  decluttering. BUT, it is still happening. It isn't requiring much thought at all. If I see it and have thought about giving it away, I just pick it up and carry it upstairs to the box. It is almost like putting your toys away when you are done. Just pick it up and put it where it goes :) I have found this to be very effective for those hectic times in your life.

Have you found any easy way to declutter that you'd like to share?

School Has Started

If you are a teacher or a parent (or you know a teacher or a parent) then you know how crazy the first of the school year is. I know everyone thinks that teachers work 7:30-3:30 and then take off for lazy afternoons, but that just isn't true. We have everything that we did last year to get our kids into the swing of things to do all over again. Notebooks must be set up, gradebooks must be set up, classrooms must be set up, and we have to set the students up for a successful year! If you have kids, you know how hard it can be to get 2 or 3 organized. Now, imagine doing that for a class of 25!

I feel very fortunate to be teaching at the school I am teaching at, but it is a big change from most other schools (keep in mind, I had only taught high school before this). As a small charter school we spend a lot of time with our students making sure they do all of the things that students are just expected to do on their own at other schools. I actually think it is a good thing. We don't just throw them into middle school and say "good luck!" We spend a lot of extra time showing the 7th graders what to do to be successful. I'm happy to do it, but that means a lot of extra work for me and a lot of time at school after Hayden is asleep.

That also means less time for things like blogging and making soap :( Luckily, the students catch on quick and we are all getting into the swing of our new year, so I'm finding more time for the rest of my life! I have resumed my decluttering. My soap room is clean again. I have even managed to find time to write a blog post. I have some soapy plans for the week. And, I'm not at school when Hayden is asleep.

So, forgive my recent absence. We are rockin' along in our new school year and I will be around more often now!