BALL POWDER LOTION!

While Jeff was home, he requested that I create a lotion that turns into powder so that he could powder himself without getting powder all over the place. I really had no idea how to accomplish this but I set to trying it out anyway. Right before he left I finished version one and sent him to Afghanistan with it. He says he really likes it because it keeps things fresh even on a flight to the other side of the world but that it didn't feel the same as if he had powdered himself. So I tried to make version two with a different type of powder but it seized in processing (otherwise known as a FAIL). So I went back to the original powder and tried more of it. Since I didn't want to wait for it ship to Afghanistan and Jeff to try it only to find it no go I let my stand in (Dad) try it out. He said it still wasn't dry enough.  Version 4, I tried a solvent with a lower flash point than water to see if that would help it feel drier. In doing this I had to change the processing significantly and everything was going well until I went to neutralize it. As soon as I added one drop of the neutralizer it instantly fell out of emulsion and the water phase coagulated around the blade in a solid gel ball (otherwise known as an EPIC FAIL!). It was pretty neat even though it was a complete failure. Finally with Version 5 I tried a third powder. Well this one is DRY. It truly is a lotion that dries into a real powder. I think it's perfect. For the nether regions and all areas under clothing at least. The only problem with this version is that the powder that it dries to is very white and it looks like you have powder on your skin.

Version 3 is an excellent shine control lotion for my face. I have oily skin. I have no hint of "combination skin" or "dry patches" just oil, oil and more oil. I don't need an "oil free face moisturizer", I need something that soaks up all the oil on my face all day. BPLv3 does that nicely and leaves a nice powdery feel without actually being powder on my face. Plus the formula does have some added ingredients for soft skin so it's a quasi moisturizer I guess.

So there, I made two new products from one great idea. I finally took BPL public today at work and told people about it. I got a lot of positive feedback even though no one knows exactly how we can fit it into Bonne Bell's lineup. We'll see down the road.

Today was my Boss Lady's last day. I'm going to miss working with her. All in all she was a good manager and she didn't get all up in my bidness. QC Manager has been promoted to "Technical Services Manager" which means he's my new Boss Man. Hopefully he won't get all up in my bidness either. I like managers who don't micro manage and let me handle my own work load as long as I'm finishing all my work on time or early. 

Fat Babies

I do not think fat babies are cute. I think fat babies are fat. I'm not talking about a little bit of baby pudge, obviously babies are jigglier than adults because they don't have much muscle tone.
This is a normal baby:

I'm talking about babies with rolls on their arms, legs and torsos that make them look like the Michelin tire mascot. Babies that look like this:

It's not really the babies' fault- it's their parents. When your child is in the 99th percentile for weight it's not a good thing. Announcing that your child is fat (i.e. My three month old is wearing 9-12 month clothes! What a big boy!) just makes you look stupid in my eyes. Eating habits for the rest of their lives are established in infancy. So, way to go- you are setting your child up for a lifetime of weight issues. Babies and toddlers are actually pretty good at knowing how much food is enough. I'm not going to digress into breastfeeding vs formula feeding (I'll save that for another day) but it's pretty hard to overfeed an exclusively breastfed infant because when they are done they just stop eating. It's easier to overfeed a formula baby because you are focused on them finishing the bottle you prepared rather than allowing them to dictate when they've had enough. I'm not saying that all babies need to be in the 50th percentile for weight and height all the time- obviously these numbers are averages for a reason. Babies grow in spurts and sometimes they will be above average and sometimes below. The problems come when your baby is in the upper percentiles constantly. The same people who comment on photos of fat babies "Aw, look how cute and pudgy he is!" will be the ones blaming you when DCFS takes your kid away for being a 200lb 8 year old ( http://news.yahoo.com/obese-ohio-child-taken-parents-placed-foster-care-180816812.html ).

Whether it's a fat 3 month old or a fat 30 year old- obesity is never cute.

Brunswick Zone can eat it.

Well Monday night we decided to go bowling. Mom and Dad and I bowled on a league last year and we've been bowling fairly regularly ever since. Jeff doesn't really bowl but neither does Eric so they could hang out and drink beer and throw a few balls every now and then. So we get to the bowling alley (The Brunswick Zone, North Ridgeville) and I pay for the two hours of bowling package for 6 people. You get 2 hours of bowling, shoe rentals and a pitcher of coke. We bowled for about 1.5 hours and were having a great time when our lane suddenly shut off. Just prior to this Eric had thrown a wild ball that ended up skipping over the lane divider and into the next lane. So we figured that either our time was up or Eric got it shut down. Jeff went to the counter to ask what happened. He was standing around up there for about ten minutes and in that time we decided to get ready to go. We put away our balls and changed back to street shoes. Then Jeff came back and said that the desk clerk said he thought we had left so he turned off our lane. Well he turned the lane back on and we still had 25 minutes left. Now we had to get ready to bowl again which took about ten minutes. So my dad went back to the desk to ask if he could credit us the time that it took to get ready to bowl again since it was THEIR MISTAKE. Desk clerk said no, he had turned the lane right back on and we hadn't lost any time. Dad got pissed and started yelling, desk clerk got pissed and started yelling back and get more adamant that he was not going to correct the time. So dad came back and I went up to the desk. I asked politely why the lane had been turned off to begin with. Desk Clerk yelled "It was an accident! These lanes malfunction all the time!!" So I calmly said "Ok, but it was the lanes mistake, not ours, we took off our shoes and got ready to go, all I'm asking for is the ten minutes that it took to get ready to bowl again." Desk Clerk gets more heated and starts rambling incoherently. I tried again but he interrupted my every word with more yelling. I said "Why is this such a big deal?" He said that he COULD add more time to our game but he WOULDN'T because my dad had yelled at him. I again pointed out that it was his mistake not ours and I was the paying customer not my dad. He said NO he would NOT DO IT. I could see this dude was on the verge of tears (apparently not used to dealing with confrontation) and he told me if I had a problem I could call his manager in the morning. I said I would do that and walked away. So I've sent a strongly worded email to Brunswick but I have yet to hear back.

I have never been treated so rudely in all my life. We were not asking for a lot. All I wanted was the time that it took to get ready. Hell he could have just paused the time until we were ready if he hadn't been such a dick. Like I said- I've been a regular customer. It's unfortunate since Brunswick is just up the street from me but there are plenty of other lanes in the area and you can be sure if they don't make this right I will NEVER be back. I will also discourage others from patronizing them. Plenty of companies have recently learned how powerful the internet is- I hope they do too.

Plastering- LIKE A BOSS

Well I've got one wall in Makayla's room totally done. That's taken three weekends. At this rate maybe she'll have her room back by April... The wall looks great though. It's not as level as I wanted it- if you run your hand over it you can tell there are hills and valleys but they are all smooth as glass so the paint should look good regardless. I have to say; I am pretty damn proud of myself. This is my first time plastering and while it may not be totally flawless it's really good. It sure isn't easy either. The internet rated it as "hard" for DIYers and it was not a lie. My arms are killing me. Off to bed early tonight- picking up Jeff in the morning!!

Hello Internet!

It's been awhile since I've written a blog. I had one in college with all of my friends from HS until the group imploded and I haven't spoken to two of them since. I've been considering starting up again but I don't know what I have to say worthy of taking up space on the internet. No matter, the internet is huge- I doubt anyone will notice my random ramblings in this tiny corner.

I've been dilligently working on learning lotion making at work. I'm pretty much on my own with it. Boss Lady doesn't really like emulsions (and is a touch self absorbed) and QC Boss (used to be R&D) is always busy with QC (shockingly) and he is not really skilled with emulsions either. Convienently, I found a blog here on the internet with a homecrafter of lotions who happens to know her chemistry and isn't afraid to share. It's been a great help. Today I made a black raspberry oil and shea butter lotion that turned out really nice. Still a bit too greasy for my taste. My favorite thus far is still the coffee butter. So anyway, I'm trying to broaden my skill base so that I can create new products to move our brand out of the "kids only" market. I have big plans. I am a genius after all.

This weekend I'm going to attempt to finish plastering Makayla's room since I was finally able to locate the finish plaster that I need. Of course I really only get Saturdays since JEFF IS COMING HOME! on Sunday. Super excited for that. Hopefully this time #2 will be concieved but I'm doubtful. My hormones are all jacked up. Finally had a normal, non stimulated cycle for the first time since May. I wish the doc would stop saying everything is fine. Everything is NOT fine! Women are supposed to have periods every month. 28 year olds are not supposed to grow hair like an 80 year old woman. Likewise, 28 year old women should not lose all sex drive. And yes, I know exercise is good for me but no, it is not the cure all. I'm a little overweight- not huge. I'm sick of not being normal and I'm sick of going to the doctor with another idea only to be shot down. I know I'm not a doctor- so figure out what the fuck is wrong with me so I can stop googling it! I'm just tired of hearing about another friend being pregnant and I'm tired of being jealous of them every time but I can't help it. I've been ready for #2 for well over a year now and I'm sick of waiting.