Update on CP soap w Activated Charcoal

Salam,

i've cut my 4 bars into 2 bars each.

i cut it with a fishing wire (my dad's) hehehe
(he did say i could cut the length i needed)
=)

but i did not measure it (the soap bar) accurately

so most definitely ada yang pendek dan ada yang senget-benget.

hehehe

i think you can clearly see how crooked it is even from the top view. sad ha..

m dah cuba buat my own soap cutter but that got crooked as well so i have yet to use it.

i'd have to fix it before i start using it or buy a totally new one..

but its a palm size bar. a standard size square bar.

i have a problem with this though..

can see right?

the bar is grey but the specks are darker grey.

is it possible that the specks are the activated charcoal bits?

entah lah..

janji nanti boleh pakai sudah laa.

it's the 3rd week of curing.. so i have about one week to go and then i can try it out.

m tak nak la tunggu sampai 6 minggu.. 4 should be enough..

chao chao!!

Cuti Sekolah tak lama lagi..

Salam,

We're planning to go on a holiday in December (hubby and i, and my two teeno's) and at first, hubby wanted to go to Langkawi (we initially planned to go to places that we've never been to, due to: (1) the distance, (2) really never been to, (3) etc and we have actually decided to take a trip South, to Johor. i suggested that we go to Johor and he said okay. Fyi, the two of us went to Terengganu last year for our anniversary) and and it turned out that Langkawi has LIMA (Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition) during the selected dates.

The room rates are waaaaaay more expensive than normal season, since it was school holidays + LIMA at the same time.

We have then, obviously, changed our holiday destination and as such, leaving for Bukit Tinggi in 24 days!

Colmar Tropicale is beautiful resort but i aimed a little lower and booked Selesa Resort instead.
i booked an apartment at Selesa, from the pics given to me by the travel agent, the 2-bdrm apartment is very basic. (hubby said it looks like a regular place for Pvt PARTY!!!!)
but as long as it has a clean bathroom and comfy beds to sleep in, that should be fine.  =)
Colmar is beautiful but costly and i plan to spend on other things than just beautiful looking rooms with a four poster bed that i really looooooooooove.. actually...

o sometimes you just have to let go of nicer things in order to get better things..
or so i think.

we plan to go to Pakistan for a cousin's wedding in March 2012 so i need to save loads of money for the tickets and shopping and stuff, you know. The amount saved will only be enough for me!! OMG!! not enough!! (panic attack now). i've never been to Pakistan thus the reason for this 'save first and indulge later' behaviour.

i would like to experience a Pakistani's wedding (whether it's lavish or simple) it doesnt matter but the fact that it's an original Pakistani wedding!! woohoo!!

it's interesting to know your family tree (i dont know much but just a tiny bit of information is somewhat fascinating!)

My Tok Janggut (my granddad on my dad's side) is a Pakistani, married to my grandmother who is a Malay from Masjid Tanah, Melaka. My Pak Tok (my granddad on my mom's side is probably a mix of Malay+Malabari and my grandmother is Chinese from Alor Star, Kedah.
i dont know more than that but i should hope that some of my relatives know more than me =)

Back to my planned holiday at Bukit Tinggi, i think we need to pay a certain fee to get into Colmar Tropicale area.
i Googled, about RM 16 for adults and RM 8 for Children.
Unfortunately children's fee does not apply to me now since i've got teeno's instead of kiddo's.
hO ho Ho!!

we're paying about RM 800 for 3 nights stay at Selesa. if we stay at a Family room at room at Colmar its about RM 1300.  So, if we pay the entrance fee for 3 days straight into Colmar, we would manage to save about RM300 lower than Colmar.

Boleh laa. Better than nothing. Boleh spend on horses ke, the spa ke, makan sampai tak hingaat ke!! (the latter is definitely what i'm after. jalan-jalan cari makan!!)

it's school holidays soon!!

i hope you have arranged something interesting and/or fun and/or educational and/or ridiculous and/or outrageous for yourself and family.

Cuti-Cuti Malaysia!!

Chao!!

A Not -So-Bad Cut - Update on my 2nd CP Soap w Activated Charcoal

Salam,

I couldnt wait much longer so i cut my 2nd soap dah!!

just see the swirls!!!

i know, i took threee pictures of the tugu (monument) sabun!!

so what? sukahati laa

=)

cantik apa

cant you see i'm over excited that my second try worked!!

hehehe

its about 12 cm in length..

and about 5.5 cm width

and about 3 cm thick..

maybe i should cut this into 2 smaller bars..

but i like it as it is now =)

....

still have to wait 4 weeks to cure =(

i hope its not going to be too caustic or too soft..

i would love to avoid both, if i could..

i had no ash problem, it got sweaty at first and then it vanished.

waiting is the most difficult part..

My 2nd Cold Processed soap !!

Salam,

I made my second soap yesterday.

from the looks of it, its beautiful..

not because i made it hehe

but the colour is beautiful, blackish greyish..

this time it was palm+olive+canola+lye+coconut milk(CM)+activated charcoal.

i made sure i froze the CM first this time so that it doesnt curdle.

it worked!!

i did not make it slushy, i just waited till it melt just a little.

i poured all frozen CM into a stainless steel bowl, 

made a well, sort of, in the centre and pour the lye in, a little at a time 

and while stirring, pushed the frozen CM into the centre, where the lye is, one by one.

it did not curdle so i am very happy!!

i need to find a way to cut this soap nicely. 

i didnt cut the first one well, 

it was too thin and very very uneven that it cant stand!

i'm actually curing it flat on its side, turning it every now and then..

i've googled and read that i should just throw it away 

but it would be such a waste so i'm keeping it for me still..

=)

i will do the cutting ceremony soon!!

blog about it later peeps!!

;)

My 1st Cold Processed soap - it curdled!

Salam,

i have finally made my first cold processed soap!

 =)

 using the milk carton as my mould

the soap did not turn out right though..

i couldnt find coconut oil so instead of using water i used coconut milk instead..

so, it was palm+olive+castor+butter+lye+coconut milk (CM).

i know, i should not have started with milk but i thought i could 

and so i ended up with curdled CM in my soap.

not forgetting the fact that i did not melt my butter 100%. maybe just around 80% or so.

i've taken pictures.

have a look-see and if you're reading this, maybe can tell me what went wrong..

 the brown swirling was from cocoa powder.
it was only visible from the top though since i used a tall mold instead of a longer mold.

or maybe there's a way and i dont know how yet.

 the is the bar cut from the top. 

cocoa powder all over the place, by the sides and centre.

=)

cocoa powder for second bar, still visible here

less here..

this one has no visible cocoa at all.

 only the hardened curdled CM.

i assume that it was the heat of the lye+CM because i did not freeze it. 

the CM was at room temperature..

=)

i will still wait for 4 weeks and see if it will cure okay.

then i will USE it!

come on, i wouldnt want to waste all my oils (castor included!!)
and my yummy milk now right?

m going to have another go at this!!

wish me luck!!

=)

The Start of a New Project!!

Salam,

in the excitement of the accident that happened on Sunday..

i forgot to mention that i have..

finally..

bought some main materials to do my soap.

i have bought a digital scale and a hand mixer.

yes, this is an achievement!

since i have been postponing it for soo sooo soooo long!

i didnt want to spend all 300++ Ringgit on a stick blender just yet

so m hoping that this hand mixer would do the work just fine.

i dont know how long it will take me to reach trace

since i havent used it yet

but maybe not as long as using a normal whisk!

so, a hand mixer it is!!

i need to have some protection for my eyes and skin so what else do i need?

hmmm...

maybe i can just clingwrap my head where the eyes are,

wear my headscarf, put on my glasses and wear long sleeves..

what else?

just need to get a plastic apron.

well, it is safer since i'm going to handle a nasty chemical.

=)

maybe i can finally start this weekend!!

=)

=)

i cant wait!!

Lost Control!!

Salam,

it's been 4 days since I crashed my car into a tembok.

Alhamdulillah nothing happened to us (me and hubby) physically.

the car was bad on only one side, passenger's side,

where my hubby was sitting.

yes, i was the driver.  =)

whaaaaat??!

yeah, i lost control of the steering.

it just didnt want to listen to my hands.

no, i dont think i was going too fast at the corner.

it had been raining earlier and the road was wet.

anything was possible..

so let me start from the beginning..

ya ya dont get bored just yet.

i havent even started..

...

i remember looking behind (through the main mirror)

takkan la i turn my head all the way back and looked behind, lagi teruk la kalau macam tu

 and i saw a bus about the time i took the left turn.

i was turning the steering when we reached the corner.

(tengok depan nampak jalan LDP tu jem teruk)

when i looked again, we were too close to the left side almost near the tembok dah 

(here, i felt the steering wheel had turned left-more left than i had planned)

so i steered it back to the right but it did not budge,

(or at least that's what i felt)

and it turned to the left again.

and so we hit the left-side rock-hard divider!

the impact made the car turn 360 degrees

and i cant recall how many times it circled

(i thought it was just once but judging from where we hit the tembok

and where we end up,

it must have been more than once!!)

in my head..

"WHY CANT IT JUST STOP??"

the next thing i remember was, i pressed the brake sooooooo hard

and the car stopped just nicely before the right side rock-hard divider.

i think the car actually stopped because at about that same time,

my husband remembered to pull the hand brake up.

otherwise, the car would hit the other divider and

the front-right of the car would be damaged as well,

and me!!

ALHAMDULILLAH!!

a great lesson learned that day!!

dont drive too fast

(even if i wasnt, really!!!)

at a corner,

when it rains or after it had rained.

what i experienced did not feel like hydroplanning

more like "you need to service your car and make sure the power steering is okay"

before you start driving.

the car was due for service anyway.

well, the car is at the workshop now.

i am car-less.

but i have my mom & my dad to drive me to work.

yes, i am still dimanjakan at this age..

=)

well, actually, they are still working and can drop me off to work on their way..

but, its nicer to think that i am being pampered still..

=)