Last night, I finally had all the ingredients I needed to make some soap.  The hardest ingredient to find was the Lye....but I was able to find out that you can buy it at Lowes..it's called "Roebic Crystal Drain Opener". 
Here are all the ingredients that I used in the soap:

Lard, Coconut oil, Olive Oil, Cocoa butter (which I actually did not use), vitamin E (preservative),  a pot for the pol, and a bowl for mixing the soap.  I also had coffee fragrance oil but you can't see it in this picture.



Also, I had a scale to measure the exact amounts, gloves and goggles (being my first time using Lye, I didn't want to take any chances), and my instruction sheets printed from the internet.



Here I am taking the Lye out and measuring it into the cup of water:


Here's what it looks like when you first mix it in...the temperature actually rises when you put the lye in cold water and gets very hot almost instantly.


The oil mixture has been cooking just to get it to a liquid and warm. (110 degrees)


Next, I pour the Lye/water (which has cooled and cleared) into the oil mixture:


Here's what it looks like combined:


20 minutes later, after stirring constantly, here is what it looks like now:




The mixture continues to thicken, but it is a very slow process. I stirred for 2 hours, off and on, and finally it was thick enough to pour into the mold (a baking dish):


I covered the dish with saran wrap, and placed it on top of our kitchen cabinets to cure and harden.
This morning, it had hardened enough to be cut into sections:


Now I just have to wait 3 weeks, for the soap to cure and harden more, and be ready for use.   I can't wait to see how it turns out!