Saturday 19th September - 90 days to go.

So, 90 days to go. I can't decide whether or not that is a long time. In teaching it would definitely be seen as a long time, a whole term of arguments, marking, parents' evenings and behaviour meetings, but something tells me that it may not seem so long between September and December this year.

Today, I hope, will turn out not to be typical for this blog. Last night I returned home from 5 days in Spain and so after a week of getting up for breakfast at the whim of a hotel manager and of feeling that "I should really do something today," I have spent this, the first day back, doing as little as possible.

I have spent the day reading, firstly the weekend newspapers. Usually we would take the Guardian and possibly the Independent and found we were caught in a trap of reading crap that didn't add anything to our lives. So this week, we took the plunge and made a change to the FT Weekend, although I still love the Guardian Guide, as it tells me what is going on all over the South of England and means that I can plan whole days out that I will probably never go on, but can still imagine. I have also, today, read a book I would never have bought, but one which I picked up at the local library and which proved also refreshing and entertaining. Janet Street Porter's "Life's too Fucking Short." I suppose it may kind of fit into the self-help category, but is more a jumble of anecdotes and mantras which may or may not inspire you to jump off your hamster wheel.

Therefore my tip of the day (thanks to both JSP and the FT) is...Read something that you wouldn't ordinarily read. Change your newspaper, pick up a different magazine, go to the library and discover a section you wouldn't usually enter. If you read fiction read a book about history or science, if you usually factual books go for a book of short stories by a selection of writers or by a writer you have never heard of. If, like my husband, you only read from a computer screen, then you are lucky you can fulfill today's challenge by reading anything you like, as long as you can turn pages in your hand!

Which brings me on...what am I wearing today? There was a time when I would get properly done up every single day - hair, make-up, even for days like today, when I sent the husband to the supermarket just to avoid having to leave the house, since getting pregnant I find this somewhat pointless, as I could spend that time doing something else. I do make an effort if I am going out, but don't waste precious time if I'm not. However, there is one thing that I refuse to relent on and that is that it is of true importance to me to make an effort with what you wear everyday, if you don't you will just start to feel fat and sad and mumsy. There is no point, at my stage in pregnancy to try and hide the bump, it will only leave people guessing at whether you are fat or pregnant and then there is a chance that you will miss out on that lovely seat on the Tube or bus, so I ensure that I have a few pieces of quality maternity clothes that "dress" my bump. Today I am wearing black jersey trousers by Isabella Oliver (expensive but definitely worth it, even if you can't find them on ebay as I did) and a TopShop Maternity stretchy dress, with horizontal Breton stripes. I have never been brave enough to wear clingy horizontal stripes pre-pregnancy, but now, why not???