One of my students is 15 years old, and she just told me that she’s pregnant. I have a 15 year old boy whose girlfriend is also having a baby. I remember when I first got pregnant, nineteen years ago, and how many questions I had. I was 23, yet it was still such a huge, mysterious thing. I can’t imagine being 15 and having a baby, but since my students are doing just that, it is to their benefit if I CAN imagine how it would be to experience pregnancy at that age.

Fortunately, today there are so many more resources than there used to be. When I was pregnant, there were a few good books, but nothing like what is available today. For example, if you go to Pregnancy.HealthGuru.com, you can find out about all stages of fetal development, answers to questions about what is safe to do during pregnancy and what is not and what labor and delivery is going to be like.

I remember that I checked the stage of my baby’s development about twice a week, even though the book showed the same picture! It was so exciting. I was also really concerned about what labor and delivery were going to be like. In that case, especially, having knowledge helps so much! In fact, the more you know about your pregnancy, the healthier the baby is likely to be. This is what I hope I can convey to my students!

I buy a lot of things online. Part of the reason is that I live in such a small town. The other reason is simply that it’s convenient. Also, when you wear a size 12 shoe, and are a plus-size tall, how else are you going to get clothes? I’ve definitely learned to check for online coupons before pressing the “checkout” button. I’ve saved so much money this way. Usually, you can find free shipping or a discount by checking for these promo codes. It’s gotten so that I don’t even want to buy anything from an online retailer if I can’t find a promo code for it! The latest one I used was just this morning, when I got free shipping from JCP. That works for me!

I’m spending the weekend scraping old paint off of my outdoor shutters so that I can repaint them. There must be ninety years of paint built up on those things, and that is no exaggeration. It makes me want to get vinyl shutters. It would be a lot easier to deal with!

Lately, I haven’t even been looking at recipes unless they are specifically crock pot recipes. I just don’t have the time to fiddle around with new recipes right now, either during the week or on the weekend. The crockpot, however, has been a saving grace.

I found a site, Recipe Matcher, that has lots of recipes, both crockpot and not, that I am checking out. I like it because it has a search feature that allows you to ONLY look at crockpot recipes for example, or only healthy recipes. The recipes are starred, so you can see what worked for other people. I’m have my eye on a tamale pie crockpot recipe that looks very yummy. I’ve got to get away from only cooking roast or chicken in that thing!

Here’s to culinary diversity!

I realized today that Monday marks the beginning of the last six weeks of school. It’s high time to begin planning what we are going to do once school lets out. Sage wants to go to Costa Rica because of the volcanoes and rainforest. I think it’s a good idea, except I’d rather hang out at a Costa Rica resort while they go trekking. Specifically, the Florblanca seems enticing. I was looking at Costa Rica vacation sites, and I got stuck on that one because of the music. Seriously, the music can take you on a little mini-vacation! At any rate, they have a surf package that sounds WAY cool, because learning how to surf would make me feel way less forty, you know?

Last year, I bought a house that was built in the 1920s. It is definitely a charmer. The thing is, it has the smallest bedrooms! So I decided to put the bed frame that my grandfather made in my bedroom. It holds a double mattress, and is just perfect for me.

However, shortly thereafter, my husband and I got back together. So we are sleeping in this double bed, which no longer feels very spacious, especially when you add two cats to the equation. Of course, if I lost weight, it might add an inch or two of sleeping space, but I don’t think that would make that huge of a difference.

I love the bed that my grandfather made, though. He was a master craftsman. Also, I’m a real sucker for wooden beds. Still, the situation as it now stands is not going to work. I am going to have to upgrade to at least a queen-sized bed. One that I am looking at is the one pictured above from Time 4 Sleep, the Grace bed. I like how it has a modern feel, yet it’s not so modern that it won’t be a good fit in my old house. The price is ridiculously low, too. I’ve seen similar beds like this one go for more than a thousand dollars. Since I have to buy a mattress as well, I definitely want a good deal on the frame. A good deal, AND good looks!

There’s something new on the health horizon that I just found out about. It’s oxygen in a can. Now people who like to go to oxygen bars can take their oxygen with them!

I love this idea. Whenever I’ve been in the ER with a panic attack, they always give me oxygen. I think it helps balance out the carbon dioxide that I’ve been overbreathing. This makes me wonder if portable oxygen would help stop a panic attack. I think it’s worth a try. I know that oxygen calms me down, at any rate.

I also think this would be good for frequent flyers. I read that the oxygen levels on planes is somewhat lower than normal. That’s one reason why people feel tired when they fly. Portable oxygen would be the perfect solution for this! You can’t take an oxygen can on an airplane, but you could certainly arrange for some to be at your destination! The same thing goes for visiting high altitudes. I know I’ll start out the day fresh, but run out of steam early in the afternoon. I think canned oxygen would help. I’m definitely putting this product in my purse!

I grew up in a small town. My best friend and I were always plotting ways to get out of it as soon as we turned 18. I went to Manhattan. She moved to Grand Cayman. She lucked out because she has family there, and that is about the only way you can live there if you’re not independently wealthy. She’s still there to this day, while I’ve wandered around the country like a vagabond.

I can understand why she chose to spend her life there. The Cayman Islands are absolutely beautiful, with crystal clear blue waters that are known for their superior diving experiences. There’s another thing the Caymans have to offer, though, that doesn’t get as much press. You can arrange it so that you can swim with a dolphin. I think that would be so incredibly awesome. Every person I’ve ever spoken to who’s done this says that it is an almost mystical experience. If it’s anything like whale watching, I totally understand. Being around whales gave me a really peaceful feeling, and I imagine that it would be a similar experience swimming with dolphins.

If you visit, try taking one of the Grand Cayman Island cruise tours and excursions, and definitely check out the dolphin activities. Your kids will especially love it! The prices are very reasonable, and it’ll be an experience that you never forget!

I’ll never forget the nice sunny day when we were moving to the new house. I had hired some folks with a truck, and we were making our last run to the house with my new couches, when out of nowhere, a black cloud appeared in the air, and within minutes was dumping rain all over us and the new couches. Did anyone have a tarp? Nope. Not me, not the guys with the truck. The couches got absolutely soaked. Lesson learned. Tarps are an essential item.

Now that I’m in the house, I have a lovely fireplace that I use in the wintertime. Of course, anyone with a fireplace knows that you can’t burn wood if it’s wet. And since I don’t live in the desert, the wood has to be covered up, or it gets soaked and simply smolders away, stinking up the house but not warming it. So, guess what I use to cover up the wood? A tarp! It has made a vast improvement in terms of the quality of fires that we now have.

My son likes to use it to make a tent. Did you know that you can string a piece of rope between two trees, hang a tarp over it, and have an instant “tent”? Kids love it. I also hear they like using tarps in the summer. What you do is get it wet, and let the kids slide around on it. My kid doesn’t know about this yet. He’s not going to. It might mess up the wood.

Of course I could always get two tarps. I like how WholesaleTarp.net has a whole bunch of colors to choose from, just in case bright blue isn’t the color of tarp you want covering your wood in your backyard. The prices are right, too. Maybe the blue one would make a good water slide…

This weekend, Greg and Sage are headed over towards Louisiana for a Boy Scout Campout. I can’t wait! No, I’m not going, but it means an entire weekend to myself. Peace and quiet…sweet!

Greg has really been looking forward to it as well. He is the type of guy who spends an hour on the computer every night researching hiking and camping supplies like gear tents, sleeping bags, GPS systems and hiking shoes. He wants to hike the Appalacian Trail someday, or if not that one, the western trail. I forget if that’s its exact name, but I remember that its the one with the most bears. No thanks.

The latest thing he’s been looking into is gear that is really light. He’s found tents that weigh four pounds or so, packs that also weigh next to nothing, and other assorted and sundry light camping gear. He is so crazy about the whole thing that he has been researching the lightest food to carry while getting the biggest caloric bang for the buck.

He tried to talk me into going on a long hike. He said, “Hikers loose tons of weight.” That almost did it. I was ready to go. Then I remembered the bears. The storms. The heat and freezing cold. I told him that he could go without me. I don’t want to loose weight because a bear took a big chunk out of my leg, you know?

It’s good that he has this hobby, though. It provides a steady source of birthday, Christmas and anniversary gifts!