My oldest son was always more slender than his younger brother. He could eat everything in sight and still not gain weight. And eat, he did! That kid had quite an appetite.

But something happened on his way to adulthood: my son’s metabolism slowed down before his appetite did. Extra pounds began to add up and now as he approaches 30, he’s trying to slim down.

Just working outside at his job has helped a lot but he’s also been looking into supplements. He’s had me search online for diet pill reviews and ratings, hoping to find something that will make the process easier.

A few things about this are significant. First, I’m totally shocked and in a state of disbelief that I could even have a son approaching that age. This must be due to a calender glitch or something.

Second, what makes this otherwise bright young man think that if something out there really did make weight loss easier, his mother would not have discovered it already?

Finally, I love reminding my darling son that he used to claim that he’d never get fat, that he’d always be in tip-top physical condition, even when he’s “old like you and dad.” HAHAHAHA!

Payback is golden.

Don’t laugh, okay? I’m asking because I really want to know. Seriously.

My home office is my own special room. No one but me has any reason to be in it so however I want to decorate it is totally my choice. I love this office.

The one thing I’d love to have in here is flowers. Even though I love fresh cut flowers, I just don’t have the time or money to keep them up year round. I was thinking that silk flowers would work well.

What I want to know is whether anyone has ever seen silk dandelions. Hey! I told you not to laugh. I really would love a bouquet of silk dandelions. I’ve seen other yellow flowers but I know a dandelion from other flowers and none of the others look like a dandelion.

So, now that you’ve stopped laughing at me, have you ever seen silk dandelions? If you’ve found them online, that would be great. Let me know, okay?

A year or so ago I gave some of my homemade goat’s milk soap to my friend. She makes decorative sprays to put on graves for Christmas, Easter and other holidays. Apparently this work is hard on her hands. My goat’s milk soap keeps her hands soft and silky.

She ran out of the soap I’d given her so I dug up some more from that batch and she was thrilled. Now it turns out she knows others who would like to buy that soap from me if I make more. Interesting.

I’m wondering whether this could be a lucrative business or not. I know where to get the basic supplies; I’d probably want to look into custom boxes and labels, too.

The major problem, though, is whether I can duplicate that wonderful bar I made over a year ago. I’m just a hobbyist and not terribly confident about my abilities. Other women are so much more talented and knowledgeable than I am.

Once I’m done second-guessing myself, I’ll get to work on another batch of goat’s milk soap. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

I’ve gone through my list of domains and I realize I need to unload some of them. I just don’t see myself using them all. Yes, I still get a great idea for a new domain now and then. Yes, if it’s available I buy it. Don’t ask me why; domains are kind of a weakness for me.

The problem is that after I’ve had the domain for a year it doesn’t seem all that great anymore. None of my domains are single word, easily branded URLs like authorize.net or something similar. Heck, I don’t even own my first name as a URL! Of course, if I did own my own name I’d never even consider selling it.

Anyway, I’m thinking of unloading some of the domains I don’t use. The operative word is thinking. Not sure how long I’ll think about before I’m ready to actually do it.

Almost everyone who knows me reads my other blog. Not as many of my real life friends and family read this one. Still, I link to this blog from my other one so I suppose people could find their way here…

This is kind of a secret, but not really. It’s just not going to be made public just yet. It’s good news, at least the way I see it. I just can’t say exactly what or who or stuff. You know.

Okay, how about this, then? We’re having a community yard sale this weekend. I’m not selling anything but I will be looking around to see if anyone is selling maternity clothes. How’s that for a hint?

And that’s all I’m going to say about that!

I stopped by this past week to visit with a friend who is also a travel agent. She’s gotten me great prices on my airfare to Hawaii in the past. I’m so tempted to check out some of the great cruise deals she offers but I’m not sure this is the right time to travel.

Anyway, my friend is starting a blog and doing a really good job with it. Problem is, the blog is not on her domain but is hosted at a free blogging site. I’m going to help her move it to her own domain. When we get that done, I’ll make an announcement here about it. You’ll want to be sure to take a look at it.

Oh, no! My baby is growing up!

Levi is just 12 but he’s definitely growing up. A few days ago he complained to me about the little pimples he’s getting on and around his nose. WHAT? Pimples are a sign of adolescence and Levi isn’t allowed to be an adolescent yet!

I knew things were changing when I had to buy deodorant for him. Now he wants me to look into acne treatments because he doesn’t want to use the same stuff his sister uses.

I really don’t like this “growing up” thing that my kids do. Anyone know how to freeze them in time, to keep them at around 8 or so?

I’ve come to the conclusion that if my son and husband do not return to Hawaii to work, I’ll need to find a warm tropical island a little closer to the east coast for vacations. I realize that it isn’t just warm weather and the ocean that I love; it’s islands. I love islands.

We’ve all heard wonderful things about the Bahamas and I’ve considered the Florida Keys. I’ve kind of got my mind set on Puerto Rico, though. I’m not sure why that is, I just want to go there.

I know Puerto Rico is self governing and somehow tied to the US. Is it a US territory? Do you need a passport to visit there? Are prices comparable to US prices? Anyone have quick answers?

Our cable company is a small outfit. That’s both good and bad. It’s good in that our prices are reasonable; it’s bad because we have to wait forever to get extra services. Like internet.

With the government dictating that all cable operators must offer HDTV by 2009, my cable company decided it was a good time to also roll out cable internet. I’ve been waiting patiently for it to get to my neighborhood and have called the office at least once a week for the past several months. Did it pay off? Well, I have the distinction of being the very first customer in my neighborhood to be hooked up to cable internet. And yes, I’m loving it.

I’ve also figured out that this is going to save me some money over time. I think I’ll put that savings away until I have enough for a new HDTV. I’d like to get either an LCD or plasma mounted to the long wall in our family room.

Looks like we’re finally catching up to the rest of the world. Sort of.

Speaking of cars and things….

I don’t know how I missed it before, but my car insurance company has a website that lets you pay your premiums online. I did that last month and it was really easy.

I pay most of my bills online. Those that don’t have online options get paid through my banks BillPay program. I don’t think I send checks for anything anymore. And I like that.

The best thing about the online payment options is that I have a triple record - the Thank You For Paying page that I copy and paste into a text file, the email that is always sent after payment is made, and the record at the website where I make the payment.

I’m awful with paper records so I embrace the digital receipts. I just have to remember to back up my hard drive so I don’t lose anything.