Whoa! Furry doggie legs is not a pretty picture. I like the gel specifically because it isn't greasy or sticky like most lotions I've tried. Maybe my skin is so dry that it sucks it all in and leaves the skin soft and smooth. Baby oil gel IS really thick stuff and it has to be used with water or it won't spread evenly and it is sticky for sure. As soon as I turn off the shower, before I dry off at all, I put a blob about the size of a quarter in my wet palm and rub my palms together, then I rub my hands all over my dripping wet legs. I blot dry with a towel and am left with soft skin without dryness, stickyness or greasyness. I've also been using Cube's idea of applying it on my wet hands after gardening, cleaning, etc and it is really helping my hands. I've now got baby oil gel at each sink in the house! There's a fine line between enough and too much on my hands...if I use too much, I rub a bit with a paper towel to absorb the excess. I'm not sure anything will help my raggedy cuticles though. If you know of something that will, please share. Now, I have to admit to having the world's crusty-est heels. The only time my heels feel and look like they ought to is immediately after a pedicure. That's after about 30 minutes of soaking and scrubbing with a pumice stone by somebody with more skill than I have. I'm experimenting slathering on a thick layer of baby oil on dry skin and immediately putting cotton socks at bedtime. It seems to be making a tiny difference and it might make a bigger difference if I applied it every night. The older I get, the more high maintenance I become! When I was a teenager I used to spend hours a day on "beauty routines". If I do everything now that I ought to do morning and night, I'd have to quit my day job!

Hi Everybody! I can't believe how this week has flown by. Tomorrow is weigh-in day again! Other than more demolition on the kitchen, I haven't been getting my exercise. Actually, I should be doing my step aerobics right now, but here I am instead. The days are getting noticeably shorter, but the temperatures here are still warm. I guess we will be getting remnants of Ivan in the form of rain, rain, rain for the weekend. But I can't complain. My heart goes out to those affected more directly by the recent string of hurricanes. Well, I wore a pair of jeans today that I had not worn for a looong time. They fit, and were not tight. I know that the changes in my diet are really working. Yellowhair--I wonder if we will see Bunny Tracks here. I really love the Skinny Cow fudge bars. My DH is now eating them, too. You know, I have never had problems with my feet. But awhile back when I was trying to take long walks, I started having a problem with my big toe. It felt like it was sprained or something. It was very odd, but it just went away. DH has lots of trouble with his feet. I am sure it is just that we are getting older. Anyway, he has heel spurs, which are bony growths that kinda jab you from the inside. he has other things going on too, and has even been through physical therapy. He says they told him that whenever he is getting pain to quit whatever activity he is doing for awhile. In other words, if it hurts when you do that, don't do that! Kathy--When I first got into gardening and landscaping someone, who was a seasoned gardener, told me that a garden wasn't really yours until you had re-invented it about a million times. Well, they didn't say it quite like that, but that was the general meaning I took from it. I was fretting because the year before I had planted a shrub that I now thought would be in much better spot if I moved it just 4 feet. I wasn't sure it was worth it to go to the trouble. The advice I got was to go for it. I did, and I am still glad I did. And that is still my approach to gardening now. I am always seeing something that needs to be improved and gardening is all about the process. So it sounds like a change will be coming to your garden soon! DeeMarie--Talking about your commute reminded me of when I was doing that. Several years ago, I drove 50 miles one way to work. It took an hour and a half on most days with traffic and all. DH says I used to come home in the worst mood. It is interesting how we get ourselves into these things. I mean the trade-off for a job that you love vs. having more time for activities at home vs a nice paycheck vs whatever. I try not to regret the decisions that I make, but it sure seems that life is all about the trade-offs sometimes. On that note, I will wrap up this longwinded post. Eat healthy!!

Thanks for the information. I know mineral oil as a skin care ingredient that is harmful to the skin. The molecumolecular structure is too large to be absorbed so it sits on the skin and "tells" the skin to shut down its moisture-producing. Leaves skin drier than before so is a perpetual issue as a moisturizer. Soapstone is non-porous, so anything put on it will either sit and dry (mineral oil) or sit and harden (walnut oil, for example). Mineral oil is harmful to humans and the environment (it is a waste product of crude oil and is cheap emulsifier so used in a lot og skin care for spread-ability). To address another’s comment about USB mineral oil OK to injest, it coats your organs that’s why it helps with constapation but is terrible for our health. Amazes me that some doctors still recommend this. Please know that just because something is natural, does doesn’t mean it is safe. Baby Baby oil is mineral oil plus fragfragrance. A baby drank it and it coated the lungs/organs and the baby died. After this, baby oil was mandated to use perscription-type safety lids. For me, it makes sense not to coat my counters with it no matter how refined. I don’t want my grandkids eating food off of it. I don’t claim to know a lot but have been to medical lectures and got the gist of it. My thinking: be as safe as possible, find reasonable, healthy alternatives. Use an oil that will dry and harden. Walnut oil. Boiled linseed oil. After hours of research, Im ordering the Real Milkpaint Soapstone Sealer (although soapstone is non-porous so does’t need to be sealed) because it has walnut oil and wax. I’ve never used it before and am not endorsing it, but reviews seem to favor it. Wish me luck! 😊 All the best to you all.

You can buy both coco butter with and without the scent for soap making; if you don't want to scent the recipe then use the scented one. I have people that prefer different butters and oils. You can control some of the properties of the soap depending on which oils are used in the soap recipe and how much superfatting is being used as well. Generally, a combo of 2 or more oils (I usually use 5 oils in my recipes)are preferred; usually, olive/coconut, palm/olive, palm kernel/olive, etc. Pomace olive oil is cheap (or used to be), no need to use the good stuff(I save that for cooking).