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A1C results in..... :)
| Mon, 01-26-2004 - 6:15pm |
6.2...we were all happy with this. My clinic's goal for their patients is to be under 6.3. Having just been diagnosed last week, (but counting carbs since a couple high tests in November and meeting with the dietician) I'm confident this number will be lower on my next test in 6 months, so I think we're off to a great start! Woo-hoo!
~* Angie ~*
CL of the Soap Making board
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppsoapmaking
Interim CL to Adoptive Parents
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppadoptprts/


~* Angie ~*
CL of the Soap Making board
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppsoapmaking
Interim CL to Adoptive Parents
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppadoptprts/
~* Angie ~*
CL of the Soap Making board
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppsoapmaking
Interim CL to Adoptive Parents
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppadoptprts/
Hi Denise! I don't mind the questions! Soap Making is easy (with patience) and fun to make. If you check out the FAQ on our board, you'll be linked to another couple of sites. The Photo Album and recipes site has a lot of links to suppliers and other tips and suggestions, and recipe sites!
There are different kinds of soap making, with the most simple being Melt and Pour (MP) soap making. You buy the soap base in blocks ranging from 2 to 50 pounds, cut off what you will be melting and then melt it either in a double boiler or in the microwave and add your fragrances and colorant. Be sure to always use cosmetic grade fragrances and colorants no matter what type of soap making you do as they are approved by the FDA for use on the skin. From start to finish, you can have finished product ready to use in an hour. Craft stores sell soap base, but I don't believe it to be as good of quality as what you'd find online from suppliers. To start with and try a batch, it's a good way to start though, but remember the soap online will also be more reasonable. The fun part of MP is that you are able to use fun molds to craft your soap in, and have more variety with the colors you can make the soaps.
There is also Cold Process soap making, where you add lye and oils and after curing for up to 8 weeks, the chemical process that takes place becomes soap. Hot process is similar to cold process in that you mix lye and oils, but because you "cook" the soap over flames, you don't have the long curing process. These types of soap making require much more time and patience, and the soaps themselves are very different from melt and pour. Cold and hot processes make a more hard bar of soap, resulting in a longer lasting bar. These types of soaps are usually poured into molds and then sliced, so the variety isn't there with the fun shaped molds because they would eat thru the mold due to the lye. The colors aren't usually as vibrant as with MP but you can use so many natural ingredients to color the soaps. There are many more safety precautions involved with cold and hot process soap making also. Gloves and goggles, long sleeves and long pants, and proper ventilation are essential. This type of soap making is very rewarding though, so don't let the lye and safety precautions scare you away from trying it if it interests you.
As for an Interim CL...it's someone who will watch over a board and help to keep it going (or in some cases, try to revive it!) until someone is assigned the permanent CL of the board. In my case, the Adoptive Parents board had pretty much died so I took it under my wing hoping to bring it back to the happening place it use to be. I didn't want to make a long term commitment to it because if I am unsuccessful, I wouldn't feel as bad leaving it with my name never being at the top of it! It's still on the list of boards needing a CL, but with me watching over it, it's not a dormant board as it waits. I was up until recently the Interim Cl of another board, had been since last March when the format went into effect. I promoted the heck out of the board, but didn't see any new action. After 3 1/2 months of talking to myself, I had no responses at all..I threw in the towel.
So, in a not so small nutshell...these are the answers to your questions! And really..I don't mind them....
~* Angie ~*
CL of the Soap Making board
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppsoapmaking
Interim CL to Adoptive Parents
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppadoptprts/
Hi Denise! I hope your toe is feeling better, what a traumatic day you had! My son is way into Spiderman too..and was disappointed yesterday when he couldn't find a box of Valentine's that had Spiderman, Superman *and* Batman in it! We certainly didn't need 74 valentine's so he had to decide on one box, finally picking Justice League.
Not sure what the oils are you are talking about. If they are for soap making, it will say so. Some fragrance oils are only for candles and potpourri and would burn the skin, so make sure they're safe for skin use. If the oils are pure essential oils, many of them would be ok for soap making..but not all. Some will burn or sting, or irritate skin and eyes in other ways. Most of the ones that would sting are ones you probably wouldn't use, but if it's a reputable store selling them, they'll know if they are known to cause any irritaion so be sure to ask. Standard amount of fragrance oil is a tablespoon per pound (if you're doing Melt and Pour soapmaking). You can use less of essential oil because it is so much more concentrated. I tend to add more than the "standard" because I like my soaps to be really fragrant. It's all in what you prefer, but you wouldn't want to go much less than a T per pound of fragrance oil (FO) because it would be too weak. Fragrancing hot and cold process soaps is going to be more trial and error, because the fragrance will cook off, and sometimes drastically change during the cure. Sometimes it smells awful just after pouring and smells good when fully cured, sometimes just the opposite!
To decide what kind of soap you've been buying, look at the slice and see if it's totally smooth or if it's a bit more rough in appearance on the sliced sides. Melt and Pour will be smooth and have a sheen to it where as hot and cold process soaps have a bit more of a rough edge.
You'll be able to make your own wonderful foot scrubbies! Buy a basic loofah sponge at a dollar store or other store, wet it then wring it out and shake it out very well