The first Man Blog of 2025! It is hard to imagine not getting to the last day of the month and realizing my dear wife always has more to say than I do. There is a twenty-seven to one ratio for the amount words we speak. I will let you guess who has the one word and who has the twenty-seven words. The one-word person got into some serious trouble pointing out this fact. The question posed after this information was shared was, "What the f*** is wrong with you? What would possess you to count my words in comparison to yours? Then, the statement, "You are an a**!" was made. She is not wrong.
We are both excited to get crack-a-lacking in 2025. I think we have finally reached the point where we both know our parts and don't, for the most part, step on each other's toes. Tina is the dreamer and the idea department. She does have great ideas and vision. I am more of the, how the hell is that going to work? Let's stay with what we know kind of role. For example, in 2020, she was all about us doing fundraisers. It was a great idea. We could help organizations raise money and get our soaps into new hands. 2020, it was also impossible to count on supplies. There were times when we could not get the materials to make soap. When they were available, we were not sure how long. The timing was awful to jump into what was a blind order with a short amount of time to prepare. There was no way to build up inventory. Her response to my "nay-saying" was, "You should have listened sooner when the timing was right."
We also discussed subscriptions. Our online site is a bit limited in what it can do. I wanted the subscription to be whatever was put in the cart. You could decide whether you wanted it monthly or quarterly, and then you could do it. However, our setup did not allow that. She said she would be happy if we had a set variety for each month. That was doable.
We have both decided that 2025 is the year we start to work smarter. We have been using a manual stamper for our soaps. It puts me in mind of the old bottle capper. Put a bar under the stamp, pull the lever, and repeat. It has seen its share of use and finally gave out on us. After weeks of Google searching, we found basically the same type of setup: instead of a lever, it stamps with a pneumatic cylinder. I can't say it is twice as fast, but it is more than twice as easy. It was almost impossible for us to find a stamper that was the right size for us. There was no middle ground between a hand stamper and a machine that could do our yearly production in under an hour.
We are also in the process of upgrading our soap molds. We have used silicon molds since the beginning. They work well for making soap. They do require a lot of time cleaning. We prewash, soak, rinse, clean, soak again, and finally rinse. Last year, we had one stainless steel mold made to test it out. The soap came out easily and cleanly. The mold was easier to clean. However, the test mold was the same length as the silicone molds. Tomorrow, I will pick up five new stainless steel molds to replace 14 silicon molds.
Last year, my dear wife decided that we should add Hyaluronic Acid to our list of spa/facial products. Fun fact: The starter size costs just under $500/lb. With a deal like that, how could I refuse? Long story short, she won again. We will be starting a new facial product with hyaluronic acid in it.
I look forward to making it a point to have some activities away from the farm this year. I asked the boss if she would enjoy a few days away in a mountain cabin or go to a fancy mountain resort. My money was on the fancy resort. Surprisingly, she chose a yurt with a hot tub well away from people. I am rubbing off on her. She tends to be a bit antisocial and introverted, and my homebody tendencies enhance her introverted qualities. She says I am the weird one. In the near future, we will stay in the yurt, just the two of us; without The Bean as a buffer, I better take my multivitamin. I also want to plant my feet in the sand on a nearly deserted beach for a week or so. I have realized that there are men in the Amish community who have seen more of this country/world than I have. That doesn't seem quite right. I also realize my daughter is just a few short years away from going off to forge her own path, which might not include staying close to dear old dad. I want to see that baby's feet in the ocean before she goes off to have a life.
My darling wife says we need to strike a better work/life balance. Again, she's not wrong. It doesn't feel like work when you enjoy what you do. I enjoy our life. I like my commute. I like not having to answer to someone. I mean, I answer to Tina, but she's not mean, mostly. Unless I don't meet my quota, do as she says, or perform to her standards. She then informs me she expects perfection, and if I don't achieve it, she will find my replacement. I think she's kidding, but I'm not sure.
So, that's what the New Year looks like for us. I think it's going to be a good one. Happy New Year, and wash on.
Love the pic, Happy New Year!!