Can washing improve our mood?

My girlfriend Karen gave me this article out of the January/February issue of Health magazine.  She thought it was interesting and wanted me to read it. The article quotes Spike W.S. Lee, a doctoral student at the university of Michigan.  According to a study he did for the department of psychology, Mr. Lee claims "When people wash their hands-or even take a shower-they feel they're washing away their concerns about a given situation".  Can something as simple as washing my hands make me feel better?  I know my mood improves after taking a bath. I feel calmer and very relaxed. After a shower I usually feel energized. But can washing my hands make me forget my worries? I don't worry about spreading germs once I've washed my hands. I spent many days working in different medical labs and believe me, you have good reasons to wash your hands often there. What do you think? The next time I wash my hands, I going to imagine washing all my troubles down the drain. Sort of a meditative hand wash.  And I will be sure to wash with a handcrafted soap so I don't have to worry about getting dry, chapped hands!

Yours in Gratitude,
Angela

Friends

Let me introduce you to some of my Indie friends.From left to right we have Francis Grillo, Roslyn Johnson of Mayaindia, Eva Stuglovics of Soapistication (soapistication.com/), Melissa Rivera of Naturally Good Soaps (naturallygoodsoaps.com), Kim Allen, me, Patricia Robbins of Sea Blossoms Soaps (seablossom.com) Sue Nadel of You Scent Me (youscentme.com)  Stephanie Bismuth of Skin Caring Soaps, and Delores Harris of Daisy May Natural Soap (daisymaynaturalsoap.com/). Aren't we a great looking bunch?? We are all members of Indie Beauty (indiebeauty.com/) and we try to get together once a month to eat, laugh and talk soap. 

Now for the questions. Why am I friends with other soap makers? I love talking soap with others who share my passion. I learn so much from them.  Aren't we competitors?  Yes and not really.  What do we do when we see each other?  Besides the usual girl talk, we chat about classes we are taking, fairs we are attending, products we are making, and problems we are having. And here is the big one. Why do I talk and share with my "competitors"?   Shouldn't I keep all my information to myself?  Why do I want to help any of them? Well, if I thought like that I would not have found the sense of community I have with these women.  We help each other out by sharing our resources and supporting one another. If I run out of cocoa butter, I know I can call Roslyn and buy some from her until my order comes in.  When I got my first wholesale order, I called Pat to give me some pointers and a pep talk. Sue was the one I wanted to smell the natural perfumes I created, since she has a great "nose".  And best of all, we can place orders for ingredients together, saving all of us (and our customers) money. Isn't this an unusual way to run a business?  Maybe, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  Thanks Ladies!!

Yours in Gratitude,
Angela

Why Soap?

When I meet someone for the first time, I am usually asked "How did you get interested in making soap?"  It's a hard question to answer. I've always been interested in "things" science, and making soap is science. I was intrigued by the idea that you can take two totally different things, oil and a base, and make a completely different substance, soap.  But there wasn't a lot of extra time in my life with a full time job and a family, to explore soap making. In 1998, I was working in a Physician Office Lab as a Medical Technologist.  I loved my job, the staff and the patients.  But changes in the health care system made it too expensive for the doctors I worked for to keep the lab open. When they shut down the lab I was out of work.  I found a job in a school system as a Science Materials Coordinator, and followed a school schedule.  For the first time since I was a student, I had the summer off.  I wanted to do something productive with it. I went to the library took out a book on soap making. I went to the butcher and got some beef fat, rendered it into tallow (and ran my family out of the house with the stink!), and made soap.  I quickly realized I could use different oils instead of beef fat, and made soap the whole summer. I still have a few of those bars of that batch of soap left (see above). I continued to made soap whenever I could the next few years for my family and friends.  My husband liked the way his skin seemed to clear up when he used it.  And friends always wanted more. 

While I'm making soap, life goes on.  My children graduate from high school, and then college and move out of the house.  So now I have even more time to make soap.  My daughter comes home one day and tells me I have enough soap in the house to clean the state of New York and maybe I should start selling.  My son is designing web sites and wants to put one up for me.  My husband thinks if my soap helped his skin, maybe it will help someone else's.  So I start playing around with different recipes, ingredients, colors and designs.  Since fragrance oils give me headaches, I start using different essential oils to scent the soaps.  I realize I Love to blend scents, and my house now smells amazing! My dad is a carpenter and he makes me my soap boxes and drying racks.  I join the Handcrafted Soap Guild (http://www.soapguild.org/) and Indie Beauty (http://www.indiebeauty.com/).  I make so many friends and meet so many people who also have a passion for soap and other handcrafted items.  I start selling and meet even more people who love handcrafted soap, customers who have become new friends.

So "Why make soap?"  I guess I still can't really answer, except to say I'm very glad I do. I'm grateful for all the wonderful people soap making has brought into my life.  I'm happy to be learning something new every day, even if it is learning to deal with QuickBooks (ugh!) or trying to figure out what Twitter is all about. I'm excited (and exhausted) to have to stay up most of the night to wrap an order, or (even better) to try out a new batch of soap. And I'm looking forward to what new soap adventures 2012 will bring.

Yours in Gratitude,

Angela

A thank you to my parents

My parents have always been my heroes.

My Dad is an amazing man.  He can fix anything and loves to work with wood.  He made all my soap boxes, soap cutters and drying racks. He was a construction worker before he retired, and was laid off when the weather turned cold and there were no jobs. I know now that my parents were worried every winter about bills, but I was so happy to have my dad home when I came in from school. He encouraged me to read by saying "If you can read, you can do anything". In fact, when I wanted to learn how to make soap thirteen years ago, I went to the library to take out a soap making book.

I was a Biology major in college. This meant my electives consisted of classes like "Organic Chemistry" and "Applications of Physics".  With nineteen credits a semester there was no time in my schedule for any other type of class.  When I decided to turn my soap making hobby into a business, I quickly realized I had a lot to learn. (What an understatement!) I heard my Dads voice, telling me that I could read a book to help me learn.

My mom has always been there for me, even when she didn't understand my choices (You're making soap, not dinner?) She took me to the library to get me my first library card. As I was growing up, all I wanted to do was read.  I think she was worried when she realized I'd rather be inside with a book than go outside to play with the neighborhood kids. In fact, when she insisted I go out, I carried a book and found a quiet corner. 

So, this blog is a thank you to my parents, who are both still healthy and vibrant. (Aren't I a lucky girl?) Thank you Dad for encouraging me to read, to learn and to have faith in myself.  Thank you Mom for your support, your love and for allowing me to "read my childhood" away. I wouldn't be where I am without either you. I love you both.

Choosing a song

Monday night I attended a networking meeting with The Long Island Center for Business and Professional Women (http://licenter.org/).  I enjoy these meetings, speaking to other women and men (yes, we have male members) to start new professional relationships.  At each meeting we have a speaker and the speaker this month was Gail Blanke.  Gail is the author of the book "Throw Out Fifty Things"  (http://www.throwoutfiftythings.com/) and is an amazing motivational speaker. She spoke of letting things go, physically and emotionally.  There was one thing she said that really struck me.  She said we all need a song. A power song.  One that will (in Gails words) "intensifies your courage, reminds you of how good you are, and of the fact that you are one-of-a-kind and throughly unstoppable"


I don't sing well, but I like to sing and I've decided I want a song. There are so many good ones to choose from. Tina Turner's "Simply the Best", Katy Perry's "Fireworks", The Pretender's "I'm Special" or Bon Jovi's "It's My Life"?  Those are only the ones that are at the top of my head.  I think I'll spend the weekend listening to music and choosing my song. Will anyone join me?  How about sharing your choices?

Things my dog taught me

Our dog Ziggy was 16.  We had to put her down this past weekend.  She was in pain and we felt it was the humane thing to do.  While my husband and I were sad, we spent the weekend talking about what a great dog she was and the funny things she did.  When we took her to the beach she would spent the entire day barking at the waves. She could catch a Frisbee thrown as far as a football field.  And she loved sitting right up against you on the couch. The more I thought about it, I realized there were many things she had taught me about how to live my life.

1- Be really happy to see someone.  Anyone.  Ziggy would greet everyone who came to the door with her tail wagging.  Didn't matter who they were or what they were doing in the house, she was genuinely happy to see them.

2-Look forward to going for long, aimless walks for no other reason than to take a long, aimless walk.

3-Snuggle with the people you love.  Touch them and make them touch you.  When they are sad, happy, angry, whenever, it doesn't make a difference.  Just touch and snuggle with them.

4-Ignore all influences meant to divert you from your path.  She taught me this a few weeks ago.  Ziggy was old and couldn't hear or see at the end of her life.  There is a bird that built a nest in a bush in our backyard. When Ziggy would go out in the yard, the bird would dive-bomb her to keep her away from the area where the nest is.  Ziggy was oblivious to the birds attacks and did what she wanted to do. The bird never gave up, but Ziggy didn't care.  She just went about her business doing what she wanted, walking where she wanted and laying where she wanted.  The bird did not deter her at all.

I want to be like Ziggy and I think I'd like the rest of the world to be like her also.  Rest in Peace Ziggy.