Pumpkin Carving

Join us for crazy conversation and pumpkin carving...

VLOG...Haircuts all around

Here Skye, Nana, and I took a trip into town to get haircuts. 

I finally talked Skye into getting the haircut I've wanted her to get all summer...

watch the action here...

Don't blame PMS

Enjoy this comical story on how I responded to someone claiming my attitude was from PMS....

Headaches Suck

Today was a horrible day full of headache pain.  The pain runs every aspect of my day, leaving me frustrated and irritable. 

Watch the video here.....

Don't forget to let me know what kind of pie filling is your favorite!

DIY Sugar Cubes

Join us for a sweet little project lol pun intended. 

Here we try our hand at making homemade sugar cubes.  This batch didn't go quite as planned.  What could we have done differently, you ask?  I think we added too much liquid or I could of just not waited long enough for them to completely harden.

Either way, the "cubes" were still tasty so we will be trying this again with a small silicone emoji mold and possibly different flavors than we used in the video.

What flavor would you like?

DIY Wig Fix

After doing some research on how to defrizz doll hair, I decided to try the method on the Halloween wig my daughter wanted to wear with her costume.  She had worn it for a couple of days, tangling and frizzing the wig badly. 

Here was what we did to try to fix it....

DIY Sharpie Mug Tutorial

So, I finally did it.  I just couldn't control myself any longer and I went out and bought sharpie markers (from a local DIY Center) and mugs (from Dollar Tree of course) and went to drawing.

The first round of mugs I made, I wasn't thinking and didn't film or take pictures.  What was wrong with me?  I just don't know, but the 2nd round I was better prepared. 

Here I film Skye created two works of art.  Check it out to see how it goes...

Mini Fabric Haul

I was super excited to receive this box the other day.  Watch for the upcoming video that is planned when I make the unpaper towels.

Update to Menu Planning

Sometime ago now, I did a post on how I menu plan for the month.  A few things have changed since then, and now that I am creating YouTube videos, I have updated how I menu plan. 




Looking for a board like I use in the video...Here is the link for one http://go.magik.ly/ml/21sf/

 See how I do it here...

My Daughter Does My Makeup

I am not sure what I was thinking.   I must have temporarily lost my mind.   Here I go letting my 8 year old daughter do my makeup.  Crazy.....come join the fun

Homemade Butter

Making homemade butter can be beneficial, fun, and entertaining.  It is beneficial because you know the ingredients you are adding, you can adjust the flavor as you like, and you can add herbs and seasonings to personalize the butter for your own needs and wants. 

Garlic butter....for extra special garlic bread

That is just one example.  How many flavors or options can you think of for your butter?


Here is how we made it:

Hope you enjoyed this post.  Have an amazing day from my family to yours.

Clothes storage alternative

A dresser was no longer working to hold my daughter's clothes....here is my solution to the problem.

DIY Dishwasher Tabs

I was finally able to get my video uploaded on making these...check it out here

Crazy Monday

This week was crazy as all get out, Monday was the worst.  Is it any wonder why we adults hate Monday's.  Check out my video to find out more...

DIY Dishwasher Tabs---Recipe courtsey of Kiwanna's Kitchen on YouTube

As I have stated in past videos, I have been helping with my gram this past summer and fall.  She has a dishwasher and since I don't have one at home, I was completely floored and damn near passed out when I saw the price of them pretty commercially purchased dishwasher tablets. Them things are expensive.

So I was pleasantly surprised when one of the YouTube channels that I follow posted a video on how to make your own.  Now, I am a skeptic and just had to try them out for myself.  The ingredients were pretty simple, it didn't seem to take an overly long time to make up, but they did have to sit for a day or so to harden up.  That I could handle.  So I went to the store and purchased the ingredients, along with ice cube trays to use for these only (gram's fridge makes ice cubes automatically so I didn't have any here laying around), and got to work.

I wasn't sure how many I would get out of a full batch of the mix so I purchased 2 2-packs of ice cube trays from Walmart, the cheapest ones they had.

Aren't they pretty...so new and fresh like that....next it was time to mix up the ingredients so I could get those pretty things dirty. 

Here is all the dry ingredients in the bowl...don't worry I will put a list of ingredients at the bottom and the link for the original YouTube video so you can check that out too.

Next it was time for the liquids....in this case lemon juice.  Now the original recipe called for 3 cups of lemon juice.  I added about a cup at first, watching in fascination as it foamed up, like in my picture, then stirred until it was combined.  In total, I added about 2 cups of the lemon juice. In hindsight it probably would have been better to add more.  It would of given me more time to work with the mixture and probably easier to get the mixture into the ice cube trays...but I didn't.  I added lemon juice until I got to a thick paste consistency like in this next picture.

 Then I spooned it into the ice cube trays as quickly as I could.  Just a word of advice though, initially I only added about 1 cup of it and realized as I spooned in the first couple of cubes that my mixture was way to thick and then I added more lemon juice to give me more working time.  If I had been smart and added in all 3 cups of lemon juice, I would have had more working time and they would of been easier to get into the trays, but the may have had to sit longer as well so that is a double edged sword there.

The mixture was enough to fill 3 of the trays fully, plus 3 additional cubes in the fourth tray.  I let them sit overnight (the video said 24 to 48 hours) because mine were rock hard the next morning.

Here is a close up view of the finished cubes.

It did take a bit of work to get the cubes out of the ice cube trays, as you can see from the powdery mess around my bowls, but I was completely satisfied with them.  In total, I was able to get about 45 cubes (each ice cube tray held 14 cubes).  You may get more or less depending on the size of your ice cubes.

I test the cubes out last night on their first trial run through the dishwasher....I was impressed.  The dishes were clean, with no spots, and no left over food on any of the dishes.  I say this is a score and will be reusing this recipe again and again in the future.

Ingredients:

2 cups of Borax  (laundry isle)
2 cups of Washing Soda  (laundry isle)
3 cups of Lemon Juice (I used bottled from the juice isle)
1 cup Kosher Salt  (baking isle)
1 cup Baking Soda  (baking isle or laundry isle)

Here is the original video that I found on YouTube...love her channel and she has some amazing recipes on here as well.

 

Funny story...Vlog post about me

It is funny how our brains work at times, how we interpret information, or how we come to conclusions.

Here is a funny story I shared with my gram recently on how my brain works at times.

A little about me...and what I have planned for my channel

Yes, I make soap, but I also do a lot of other things.

There are quite a few ideas that I have, but I need your help as well.

Tell me what you want to see, what information you would like shared, or what you don't want to see.

At this point, my plan is to create a variety of videos including DIY's, soap making (once I get the proper lighting and things), crafts, and video tests.  Don't forget to let me know what you want to see.

A funny story about soap

As I mentioned, I am starting to record a few more YouTube videos. 

Now, be kind.  I am a newbie and at the moment I am recording with my cellphone and uploading directly from that, without editing. 

I am currently looking into lighting options, editing software and the rest of the whole shebang, so please let me know if you have any suggestions.

Here is a funny soap story for you in the mean time....

Welcome to YouTube

I'm back....I realize I haven't posted in a while and I am trying to get back into the swing of things.

A few weeks back I recorded a YouTube video, the first video that I had recorded in a very long time, a year roughly.

I thought I would take a moment and share that video with you guys here and ask for your help in deciding what information you would like to see.  I do have a few ideas coming up on different videos and blog posts that I am working on, but let me know if you want to see anything specific.

Moonlight & Maxipads Chapter 3

Here is the first chapter of my book.  Please keep in mind that this is not appropriate for those under 18 years of age due to explicit language and sex that is in the book (though may not be in this chapter itself).  If you are reading this, you are doing so with this understanding.

Copyright

Copyright © 2016 by Danielle Dignin

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

 

Chapter 3

                The drive into town was uneventful, though my curiosity was piqued as to what the detective wanted from me.  While I was in a hurry to get to the sheriff’s department, I was not feeling especially urgent so I decided to take the scenic route past Indiana Beach so that I could enjoy the beauty of the water and fresh air.  It also helped that the pretty scene calmed my jangled nerves before speaking to Detective Booth.  Between my morning calls, the weird delivery, and now this call, I was a nervous wreck.  I pulled a cigarette out of my pack and lit it with slightly shaky hands (don’t criticize, we all have our addictions or relaxation techniques, however you wanted to look at it).  While I have never been on the wrong side of the law, it isn’t usually a good thing when they want to speak with you, though I took it as a good sign that they didn’t come to my home or business for whatever they wanted. 

                I took the last puff on my cigarette as I made the last leg of the drive up 6^th Street, passing Sublette’s Ribs on my right as I put my cigarette out in my ashtray.  I drove past the medical center and drove a few more minutes before making the right into the parking lot of the White County Sheriff’s Department and parked my van in a vacant spot.  I took one last deep breath and headed into the building.

                “Hi, I am here to see Detective Stan Booth,” I told the officer at the front desk. 

                “I will let him know you are here.  Please have a seat.”  I turned to look at the area the officer indicated and walked over to the chairs that were available.

                “Thank you.”

                I didn’t know how long I was going to have to wait so I took a few moments to look around.  The walls were a plain shade of off white, clinical in appearance, in my opinion, and not much in the way of color or ornamentation.  There was a glass wall allowing officers to see who was inside the lobby.  I could understand that seeing as how this was a police department and not a salon.  I wasn’t sitting there long before I heard a door squeak open to my right.  I looked over and felt my insides melt at the yummy male specimen before me.  

I started at the feet and had to hide a grin when I saw the bright blue and black converse sneakers.  The legs were encased in well-washed rich indigo jeans that looked like they had been made for the man.  The jeans curved around a nice tight backside giving the jeans an appearance of being a second skin.  Tucked into the jeans was a soft grey, well-worn t-shirt with the name of a local restaurant.  The snugness of the t-shirt fit tight across a muscular chest, accentuating every rippling muscle beneath the t-shirt.  The sleeves of the t-shirt were rolled once, enhancing the biceps, and bringing attention to the muscle definition in the arms.  The skin of the arms was smooth except for the bottom of a black tattoo that was peeking out from underneath the right sleeve of the t-shirt.  There I went up higher and noticed a slight smirk on the face of the Greek God Adonis himself.  High cheek bones cut into his face leaving him a rugged cowboy look with piercing steel gray eyes, crinkling at the sides indicated his amusement at my inspection (and probably the drool coming from the side of my mouth), dark brown hair peeking out from under the baseball cap he wore backwards on his head.  It was all I could do not to lick my lips at his yumminess.  You were warned about the word thing.  His smirk gave way to a full grin (oh god, he even had dimples on both sides) as our eyes met and I tried to gain control of myself.

I closed my eyes, trying to get my libido under control.  Maybe my mom was right about needing a man, I thought to myself.  God, I was so not telling her though. 

He stuck his hand out to me, “Ms. Summerfield?”

I cleared my throat, “um, yes, that’s me.  Dr Stan Booth…um I mean Detective Stan Booth, I assume.”

“Dr?  Are you in need of one?”, he asked with a grin.

“Ha-ha, not that I know of,” I chuckled lightly, while thinking to myself…HELL YES…I think my heart stopped.  “What did you need to see me about, Detective?”

“Um, yes,” he said clearing his throat, remembering where we were.  “Let’s take this into the conference room.”

“Well, this can’t be good.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Why else would you be calling me, first thing in the morning, and now wanting to “speak” with me in the conference room.  Let me assure you, I haven’t done anything wrong and lead quite a boring life.  Just ask my mother.”  Finger quotes accentuated my words with a sigh at the end.

“I can assure you, that this isn’t about anything you have done.  We are trying to get some background is all.”

“Hmm…background on whom?  And what do they have to do with me?”

“Are you familiar with a Steven Dimwhit?”

“If you contacted me, then I am sure you know I am familiar with him.  He is my ex-husband and before you ask, yes that is his real name….and fits him well.  What did he do now?”

A slight cough covered up the chuckled Detective Hottie was trying to suppress.  “When was the last time you saw or spoke with Mr. Dimwhit?”

“Well, Detective Ho..uh Booth (ooohhh…that almost slipped out), let me think.  We divorced in 2003, so I would say roughly about 12 years since I have seen him.  I have not spoken to him on the phone, but we do speak occasionally through Facebook.  I think the last time that was at least 4 or 5 months ago when he asked for copies of a book I had.  He never contacted me to let me know when he wanted to meet me to make copies though.  So, what did he do?  Finally get caught for drag racing?  His new wife get sick of his attitude and knife him in his sleep?”  With the quickness that Detective Hottie looked up at me, I gotten some of that right.  “Oh shit, please tell me what is going on?”  I had lost all joking tones with my last sentence, instead said it with complete seriousness and concern.

“You may want to sit down for this, Ms. Summerfield.”

I nodded as I sank down into one of the multiple cushioned chairs surrounding the long table.  They were not as comfortable as they looked and for a moment, I allowed myself to focus on that instead of on the conversation me and Detective Hottie were about to have.  The carpet was nondescript beige at best, just plain ugly at worst.  The table and chairs looked like one you would see in a boardroom of a mid size company.  Serviceable, even if they weren’t very comfortable designed to fit multiple people at a time despite not wanting them to stay long.  A buffet style cabinet against one wall had a double coffee pot, coffee cups, and condiments to go along with it.  I stared longingly at the fragrant brew emanating from the coffee pot, but didn’t say anything as Detective Hottie shuffled the papers in front of him as he sat down.  He glanced up and must have seen the look on my face as he glanced over to the pot himself.

“Would you like a cup?  It is fresh, I just made it myself before you got here.” 

“I would love a cup.  Thanks.”  I stood up to head over to the pot, just as Detective Hottie got up himself. 

“I got it, thanks,” I said as I dumped sugar and cream into the cup.  Stirring carefully, I took the first sip.  Sighing deeply, I looked over at Detective Hottie.  “And they say police coffee is the worst.  This is good coffee.”

Detective Hottie grinned at me, nodding at the compliment.  “Ready?”

“As I will ever be, I guess.  I don’t think there is every any way of being ready for something like this.  I don’t even know what this is so how can I be ready for it.  Sorry, I tend to babble when I’m anxious, usually to myself, though normally there isn’t anyone around to hear me, and pets don’t count since they don’t talk back or tell anyone what was said.  Damn.  Sorry, babbling again.  Let’s get to this.”

Detective Hottie didn’t even hide his grin at my dialogue, mainly with myself there, instead just let me run out of steam on my own and waited until I took a calming breath before continuing himself.

“We reached out to you for background on Mr. Dimwhit (this said with a slight grin) so that we could better understand his character, behaviors that were normal for him or not normal, and things like that.  What can you tell us about him?”

“Well, again I haven’t seen him in 12 years,” thankfully, I muttered to myself under my breath but Detective Hottie grinned making it apparent that he heard me, “so I wouldn’t know what behaviors were normal or not normal for him in the last decade.  I am friends with both him and his wife on Facebook and see their posts, but I have never seen anything negative.  I know he has two girls, not sure of their ages, but I think they are around 10 and 8, maybe a bit older or younger.  I think he still works for the same company he did when we were together, but if that is right then the company has changed its name or owners since then.  Maybe if you tell me what you are looking for, I can give you more information.  Better yet, could you tell me what is going on so I can process and deal with it instead of sitting over here wondering what the hell is going on?”  I realized I had gotten a little loud on my last sentence and quickly calmed myself down.  “I’m sorry, this is a bit nerve racking especially given that we are divorced and I still have no idea what is going on.”

“You are right, Ms. Summerfield, but unfortunately I can only discuss certain aspects of what is going on with you.  I can tell you that we are looking into Mr. Dimwhit’s past to see if he had any enemies, his work habits, things like that so we can better understand how he thought.”

“Thought?  Past tense? Oh God.  Please just tell me what happened and I will answer your questions as best as possible.”

“Well, Mr. Dimwhit is deceased.  He was found this morning, in the front seat of his pickup truck, in the driveway of his house.  His wife noticed the truck in the drive when she was getting their daughters ready for school.   She went out to check and found him behind the wheel.  He had been stabbed multiple times, but there was something else about him and the vehicle that was….ummm…unusual.”

“Oh, God.  I am so sorry.  She must be a mess and the girls must be too.  Wow, god, I mean we were divorced yes, but I knew him for what about 20 years now.  Wait, unusual?  What do you mean, unusual?” focusing on the last part of his sentence in order to maintain my composure.  Yes, we were divorced but still, like I said, I was married to the man and did care for him.

He cleared his throat for a moment, “well, there was um,” he cleared his throat again, struggling for words to describe what was found, or so I thought.

“What?  What is it?”  I pushed back away from the table, standing up and facing the detective in front of me. 

“Pads,” Detective Hottie said low.

“Pads of paper?  What are you talking about?”  I shook my head in confusion trying to understand what was so difficult to say about pads of paper and make sense of why there would be paper all over my ex-husband’s truck.

“Not pads of paper,” he said clearing his throat again. “Pads.  Sanitary napkins.  Maxi pads.  They were tacked around the inside of the truck like posters and even stuck to his body and face.”

“Wait, what now?  Someone wallpapered my ex-husband, and the inside of his truck, in feminine hygiene products?  Like the pads used during your menstrual cycle?”

I watched as Detective Hottie nodded at my question and as it hit me, the image popped into my mind of how my ex-husband panicked at the sight of an unused, clean, still wrapped sanitary napkin.  I am not proud of myself.  I completely lost it.  I laughed so hard I snorted, laughed some more, wiped tears away from my eyes, and laughed again.  I tried to compose myself and sit back down, however I missed the chair, landed hard on my ass and smacking my head on the cabinet behind me.  I sat on the floor, right where I landed, and continued to laugh until I couldn’t breathe.  I was taking in big gasps of air in an effort to catch my breath, tears running down my face, snorting between breaths as the image would hit me all over again.  Honesty, I am just surprised I didn’t wet my pants during the fiasco.  All the while knowing, Detective Hottie was staring at me in confusion, concern, and shock.  People outside the room apparently heard the racket as we were both in the same exact position when someone slammed the door open and rushed in. 

“Detective, what the hell is going on here?”  Standing in the door way was a distinguished man, in his mid 40’s with a light gray suit, steel gray tie with blue pinstripes, and shiny black shoes.  The man stood with his hands on his hips trying to understand what he was seeing, with a look of confusion on his face before running his hands through his thick, but graying, hair. 

Detective Hottie snapped to attention with a “Sir.”  “I was explaining the situation to Ms. Summerfield, Captain.”

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” I said, gasping in air between trying desperately to catch my breath and gain control of myself.  “I am so sorry.  I realize how inappropriate my reaction was, but you would have to understand my ex-husband to realize just how funny this situation is, well not his death of course, but the rest,” I explained between big gulps of air, trying to get myself back under control and less hysterical, standing up quickly to face the new man in the room.

“Captain Stibbons, this is Ms. Summerfield, our victim’s ex-wife.  Skye Summerfield, this is my commanding officer, Captain Michael Stibbons.”

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Summerfield.” Captain Stibbons stated as he shook my hand. 

“No offense, but I would have been happy to never have met you, but don’t take that personally because I never wish to meet police officers period.  It is not usually a good thing whether it is because of a death, accident, or worse.  And I promise I have no active warrants, parking tickets or speeding tickets.  Damn it, I’m babbling again.  I am so sorry.”  I closed my eyes, completely embarrassed by my own behavior.

“Well, I guess that is good to know, but you must realize we have already checked into all of that, given the circumstances,” Captain Stibbons said with a smile.

I smiled back, “I kind of figured that, but good to know that is all cleared up and on board.”

“Well, I will let you get back to the interview now that I know there isn’t a major fight breaking out here in this room.  Ms. Summerfield, good day.  Detective.”  Captain Stibbons’ eyes twinkling at me a bit in amusement as he left, silently wishing Detective Hottie good luck with the crazy woman in the conference room I was sure. 

“Thank you, Captain.”

“I am so sorry, Detective Hot….uh Detective Booth (I have got to stop thinking of him as Detective Hottie before I call him that to his face…I thought to myself), I hope I did not get you in trouble and I had better explain my laughter at the…umm situation.  I am really not a cold hearted bitch, but you have to know my ex to understand why that is hilarious, again not the dying part, but the pad part.”

“OK,” Detective Booth said with a chuckle, “then why don’t we try sitting down again.  Do you need some ice for that bump?”

“I think it will be ok, but I appreciate the offer.  Now what exactly do you need to know?”

“Well, first off, can you tell us about your relationship with Mr. Dimwhit and why the…um…situation was comical to you?”  Detective Booth said with a slight chuckle.

“Ok, I met Mr. Dimwhit (sorry, but that is still funny to me, so I said that with a bit of a giggle), when I was living in Illinois.  We were neighbors; well our parents were neighbors I should say.  We were together for about 2 years before we got married.  I was 17 and he was 21 and we were married for just shy of 4 years before we divorced.”

“You got married young then.  What happened to cause your divorce?”

“We got married because I found out I was pregnant, but I miscarried a few months after the wedding.  We were in love so we tried to make it work and have a family but after 3 more miscarriages, two that were later in my pregnancies, we just drifted apart.  Once we were divorced there was the normal comments about how I tricked him into getting married and I think some even said I faked the first pregnancy, despite him having been with me during the miscarriage itself.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.  It must have been a difficult time for both of you.”

“It was, unfortunately, I was too wrapped up in my own pain to recognize his pain and didn’t realize it until long after our divorce.”

“That is quite big of you.  What was he like to live with?  Did he have any enemies?”

“Ha-ha, that is years of therapy and counseling coming out in that sentence.  He was pretty set in his ways.  He was very opinionated and didn’t like people arguing with him.  He could be controlling at times, but I don’t know that I would say he had any enemies.  Don’t get me wrong, he isn’t my favorite person in the world, it took a long time for me to develop my own set of opinions on things after the divorce and gain my own set of balls, but I never wished ill on him.  Ok, maybe I did for a while, most woman who are dumped after miscarrying their third child will be bitter to an extent, hence the therapy, but I never saw the point in stewing in hatred.  I didn’t have time for that.”

“Any friends that he may have gotten into an argument about anything?”

“He didn’t have many friends when we were together.  He worked 6 days a week during the summer and winter usually, that last winter before our divorce he was on unemployment because work was slow, but he didn’t have any fights with anyone that I am aware of.  I wouldn’t know who any of his recent friends are.”

“What about the maxi pad portion of the situation was funny?”

“I should apologize for my reaction to that, but being with the man for what seemed like an eternity back then and how he was about feminine issues, it was pretty damn funny.  I remember one day when a new pad fell out of my purse onto the table and you would of thought it was a hand grenade by the way he picked it up by the corner and flung it across the room flipping out about it being on the table.  At the time, it wasn’t funny since he screamed at me for about an hour afterwards, but now it is kind of funny.  Whomever did this must have known how he felt about “female issues” as he called them then.  I am assuming of course that he still feels the same way about it.  He would never touch me if I was on my period and if he had his way I would sleep in a different bed, hell even house, during that time of the month.”

“That seems a little extreme.”

“You had to know him I guess.  He wasn’t all bad, but the bad memories seem to be the ones that usually remain after a broken marriage.”

“What do you mean?”

“He could be controlling, as I have already said.  He had his thoughts on things and didn’t like his thoughts questioned.  He wasn’t physically abusive, he could be violent at times, but he tended more toward being verbally abusive.  That didn’t make him friends easily since he tended to alienate himself from a lot of people, like my family, when we were together.”

“Violent, what do you mean?”

“Well, I can think of two incidents really.  The first was when he threw a salt shaker across the room, away from where we were sitting, because I salted my food and he didn’t think it needed salt.  The second time was when we were arguing, I have forgotten about what now, when he threw a gallon of milk in my direction, and it hit the ceiling fan and busted open all over the place.”

“So you were the one that filed for divorce then?”

“No, he filed for divorce after I lost the third baby.  He came home from work about three months after the miscarriage and said he wanted a divorce and had spoken with an attorney about it.  I always thought that when a couple had problems, they worked them out, but apparently, he didn’t see that the same way.  To be fair, it was a rough couple of years and I was suffering from severe depression after all the miscarriages.”  The surprise on his face at my candor on my faults and the issues in our marriage made me comment, “Therapy, remember.”  Accepting his nod of understanding at my comments. 

“Ok, well I think that gives me enough for now.  Can I give you a call if I have any more questions for you?”

Any time, big boy, I thought to myself, but said, “Sure, as long as it’s not at 4 a.m.  I thought I would make that clear since it seems to be happening a lot lately.  I am so not a morning person.”

Detective Booth chuckled as he shook my hand, “I will remember that.”

I really have to get my libido in check, I thought to myself as I headed out the door.  

Check out Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 in previous posts or purchase the full book at:
 http://www.lulu.com/shop/danielle-dignin/moonlight-maxipads/ebook/product-22607936.html

Moonlight & Maxipads Chapter 2

Here is the 2nd chapter of my book.  Please keep in mind that this is not appropriate for those under 18 years of age due to explicit language and sex that is in the book (though may not be in this chapter itself).  If you are reading this, you are doing so with this understanding.

Copyright

Copyright © 2016 by Danielle Dignin

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.



Chapter 2

                I waved to Heaven as the bus drove away, still working on the list of all the things I needed to accomplish for the day, but enjoying the moment of quiet before I got started on that list.  I grabbed my now cold coffee and dumped it down the drain.  Luckily, there were only a few gulps left; I refilled my cup with a fresh cup of steaming brew.  I took a moment to inhale the aroma of the coffee, feeling the sips of hot caffeine as the fog in my brain fully evaporated.  The caffeine working its way through my veins, reviving, and energizing me for the day ahead.  I decided to enjoy my coffee in quiet before getting back to my list of products to make. 

                After finishing my steaming brew, I went back to my list again.  I marked off the lip balms as they were done now.  I put those aside for labeling and packaging later in the day.  Next up on the list were the lotion bars.  I took a few minutes to wash out my double boiler from my lip balm making earlier, making sure that no additional oils were left in the pot, and then running them through a sanitation run in the dishwasher.  While the dishwasher was running, I brought out my stand mixer to get started on the Orange Creamsicle body scrub.  I needed 2 containers of this, but decided to make a double batch to have a couple of extra on hand, I could always bring a couple extra out to the shop if needed.

                I gathered the ingredients for the lotion bars and set those on the counter just as the dishwasher dinged that it was finished.  I pulled open the door and pulled the drawers out to allow them to finish air-drying.  I then gathered the ingredients for the body scrub.  I paused for a moment to take a sip of my cooling coffee, still struggling with my frustration over the two strange phone calls I had that morning.  Measuring out sugar into the bowl of my stand mixer, then adding coconut oil before switching the machine on.  The whirl of the stand mixer made me realize that I needed something to get me going or I was going to fall asleep to the rhythmic sounds of the whirl of my mixer, didn’t matter that I was standing.

 Maybe some music would help, I thought to myself.  I dashed over to the stereo and turned on some of my favorite country music.  I danced back over to the mixer and saw that the sugar and coconut oil mixture was fully combined and ready for the addition of orange essential oil, vanilla, and coloring.  I added these to the bowl of the mixer and turned it again to combine the rest of the ingredients.  Once combined I added the scrub to the jars with lids and set those aside with the lip balms for labeling and packaging for later.  I danced to the music during this entire process; singing along with whatever song was playing, enjoying the beat and musical lyrics. 

                I took the double boiler out of the dishwasher and dried it off with a clean dishtowel to get the last bit of water out of the top before adding water to the bottom and putting it on the stove to heat up.  I groaned as the phone rang again disrupting my day again.  I headed over to the stereo, turning the volume down to low, but refusing to turn it off completely and losing my mood.

                “Hello.”

                “Are you up for talking now?”

                “Who the hell are you and why do you keep calling me?” my good mood instantly killed, turning to frustration and irritation at my unwanted caller.

                “You know who I am.  Have you thought about my question yet?”

                “What question?  You keep alluding to this mystery question.  Just tell me what it is that you want.”

                “I see the coffee hasn’t cleared the fog from your brain.  I asked you a question this morning and you have yet to answer it.  Now that is just insulting.”

                “I have no idea who you are so why would I insult you and you shouldn’t call at 4am if you do not wish to insult me, so what is it that you want again?  Wait a second, how the hell would you know I was drinking coffee?” a little frustrated with being interrupted once again.

                “I want to give you the one thing you want the most. I told you, I know a lot about you,” his voice said smugly. 

                “And how would you know what I want the most?  You don’t know me and I don’t know you.”

                “But I do know you and very well.”

                “I don’t think so or you wouldn’t feel the need to hide behind the phone. “

                “You aren’t ready to meet me yet.”

                “What the hell gives you the right to determine what I am ready for?  Who the hell are you?”

                “You will find that out in good time, Ms. Summerfield.”

                “Don’t you hang up…..Grrrr.”  I realized I was speaking to the dial tone and slammed the phone down. 

                I looked at the phone for a moment, closed my eyes, and took a slow breath in.  Allowing the breath to calm my irritation away.  I had a lot to do today and I didn’t have time to let my anger or frustration get to me.  That type of distraction could cause errors in mixing items together and that was too dangerous to mess with, especially when it comes to soap making.

                I glanced at the clock, realizing that my morning was quickly getting away from me and rushed to complete my orders.  Before starting on my lotion bar order, I took a few minutes to pull something for dinner out of the freezer.  After tossing a beef roast into the crock-pot, sprinkling onion soup mix over the top, and topping that with beef broth, I proceeded onto my next product.  Later I would add some carrots and potatoes to the mix, but for now, I had work to do.  I headed back to the stove when I heard a knock at the door.

                “What the hell is that now?” I asked aloud, heading toward the front door.

                “Who is it?”  I asked, peeking around the window shade on the door.

                “I have a delivery for a Ms. Skye Summerfield,” a voice called out.

                I opened the door, curiously since I don’t have deliveries sent to the house.  Those are always sent to the shop.

                “Please sign here,” the man from UPS said. 

                “Thanks,” I told him, handing back his nifty signing machine scanner thing.  You all know what I am talking about.  Though I will admit it helped that the nifty signing machine was handed to me by some really nice eye candy.

I picked up the box and took it back inside.  It was a long box, not very wide or deep.  I looked at it, not sure if I wanted to open it up or just throw it straight in the trash.  Curiosity got the best of me and I slowly untied the large blue bow on the front of the box.  I didn’t know what it was, but they at least knew my favorite color.  Hmmm…now, I was really curious.  I know, I know…curiosity killed the cat, but damn it, I had to open the damn thing.  I pulled the ribbon off the box and just looked at the box again.  It was plain white, no markings, no labels, and no stickers other than the shipping label.  No return address, I noticed, groaning again.  I pulled the lid off the box, opening up the green tissue paper that was inside, pausing before pulling it completely open.  I took a deep breath and pulled the paper open.

“What the fuck?”  I said, looking into the box.

I stared into the box, not quite understanding what I was seeing.  Inside the box was a dozen long stemmed white roses mixed in with a few blue flowers I couldn’t identify.  I dug through the box and found a card, opening it quickly.

“Remember, I do know you,” I read aloud.

I sat the box on the table then sat in a chair, just staring at it, goose bumps running up and down my arms and legs.  I am not sure how long I sat there just staring at the box before I picked it up and tossed it into the trash, box, and all.  I took a deep breath and shook off the creeps I had from that delivery and went back to what I was doing. 

                When the phone rang, I had turned off the heat on the double boiler, now I turned the heat back on and checked the water level in the bottom.  I added a bit more water to the bottom and started measuring out coconut oil, almond oil, and beeswax.  Vitamin E oil and my additives I would put in once the oils and waxes were liquefied.  My hands shook a bit, as I measured out the ingredients; I was still shook up by the delivery.  Once liquefied, I turned the heat off on the double boiler and slowly stirred the mixture to help it cool.  I measured sugar, vitamin E oil, and essential oil into a separate bowl, then after a few minutes of cooling, slowly poured the liquefied oils and waxes over the top.  Stirring fully to combine then poured the mixture into the round molds I use for my lotion bars and set them aside to cool and set up. 

                Once that was done, I sat down at the table again.  I was too shook up to work on the next items on my list so I headed out to the front porch for a cigarette.  Lectures not needed, I know how bad it is for me, but I needed one desperately.  I sat on the front porch, slowly puffing on the cigarette, trying to calm my shaken nerves.  Enough, I told myself.  I went back into the house and I put myself back into work mode.  Whomever this asshole was that was calling me, knew my favorite color and that white roses were my favorite, this shook me to the core, though it wasn’t exactly uncommon knowledge either.  Hell, anyone who read my Facebook page would know those things. 

                Going back to my list, I crossed off the lotion bars before deciding what to start on next.  The lotion wouldn’t take long to make, but the soap bars and cupcakes would need time to set up before they could be completed.  I decided to get started on the soap cupcakes since the bases would need to firm up before I could pipe the soap on top.  Since I was planning to do the same scent in both bars and cupcakes, I decided to mix up enough for both of them in the same recipe. 

                Since the oils and lye water needed to cool, these were the first things to mix up.  While those were cooling, I would make up the lotion and fill the bottles.  I measured out the solid oils in a large pot and set them on the stove to begin melting slowly.  As those were melting, I measured out the liquid oils and added those to the pot.  I stirred the oils and butters together to help them liquefy a bit quicker and once liquefied; I turned off the heat and removed the pot from the stove.  The pot was set on top of a potholder on the table to cool down to room temperature.  I measured out the lye and water needed for my recipe into two different containers.  Turning on the exhaust fan on the stove, I slowly added the lye to the water, stirring gently.  I set the heavy-duty plastic container on the stove under the vent to help remove the fumes produced when the lye and water mix.  Once the fumes stopped, I removed the pitcher of lye water from the stove and set it inside the sink to prevent spills and to keep it away from accidental bumping.  I finished this just as the phone rang again.

                “How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me?  I don’t even know who the hell you are.”

                “I’m sorry,” a new voice said with hesitation, “I am trying to reach a Ms. Skye Summerfield.”

                “This is her.  Who is this and why are you calling?”

                “This is Detective Stan Booth from the White Country Sherriff’s Department.  I was wondering if you had a few moments today and could come in for a few questions.” 

                “I can come out right now, but I would need to be back before 3:30 when my daughter gets off the school bus.  What is this about?”  I asked wearily. 

                “I don’t really care to discuss that over the phone, but it shouldn’t take more than thirty minutes.  How long would it take you to get here?”

                “I am about 10 miles north of town so it should take me about 20 minutes to get there.  I have a few things to put away here and then I will be heading your way.  I would say give me about half an hour, give or take a few, to get to you.  That will give me a few minutes to clean up what I was working on here before heading out.”

                “Ms. Summerfield, I look forward to speaking with you then and will see you in about half an hour.”

                “Yes, Detective Booth, I will see you then.”

                I found a 3-gallon bucket and poured the melted oils and butters into the bucket before putting the lid on it.  I found the plastic cover for my pitcher and put that on top of the lye mixture.  I set both of these containers inside the laundry tub to get them out of the way and prevent any of my pets from knocking them over.  I made a quick stop to use the washroom before grabbing my keys and purse and heading out the door to meet Detective Booth.   

Check out Chapter 1 in yesterdays post and Chapter 3 tomorrow or purchase the full book at:
 http://www.lulu.com/shop/danielle-dignin/moonlight-maxipads/ebook/product-22607936.html