My New Hobby

Okay, so I've been in search of something I Enjoy doing...Once upon a time I actually enjoyed and was passionate about my job, but alas, that feeling has died out and I have been sad about it because I couldn't figure out what my Passions were...very sad. I started that grad program for my 6th year in hopes of being inspired or finding my new path and I had been disappointed time and again both by the program and by my lack of being able to figure it out...until recently, that is.

So the program is Experiential Health and Healing and we have all kinds of guest speakers that come and share their expertise in various alternative healing modalities. Very interesting, but not always very scientific. I even had to give an evaluation of one of the program "directors" and say that I needed more science besides her comment that sometimes we need to do things just because they feel good (picture a woman laying on a massage table with colored silk scarves draped over her chakras, color coordinated, with a singing bowl placed on her chest...I ask what all this is doing for the "client", she says she does it because it feels good...and I'm supposed to be wanting to tell people about this "alternative therapy"....) That example was rather dramatic, but true!

Anyway...so I've been so caught up in thinking about what to do for my mentorships and internships and what I could be if I'm not a teacher and all that jazz...what am I actually "qualified for"...it's been rather tedious thinking...but finally, I find my calling...

It's soap, yes, clean, lathery, all natural soap, handmade from scratch, right here in my very own kitchen...I've become a bit obsessed with it, can't stop thinking about it, searching online for recipes, ideas, marketing strategies, small business ventures, etc. It's so not a career (given that I don't want to HAVE to make it and make lots of it, but it's so much fun to think about and look forward to...I have also been playing with bath salts and bath teas and "gift baskets." I can see myself at a little table at craft fairs or farmers markets...how cute! (yes, this is really Lisa, being all crafty and such!)

Here are some pictures of the process...it's rather involved and involves a "caustic solution" of lye, water, and oils...hence the goggles and gloves...

The set-up

Pouring the lye into the water with Tasha and her husband, John. (For some reason, Travis always has something important to do when I make soap...hmmmm)
Mixing the lye/water solution with oils...

Fun, fun, fun!! I'll keep you posted on my adventures! I might almost be able to call all of this my new Passion...we'll see! Imagine that, ditch the day job and sell $4 bars of soap...sure would take lots of bars to equate to my current salary!!! But it's good to be excited about something! And who knows if there might be something in the future that might keep me from working full-time...you never know!