Chatelaine

You can save your children some trouble down the road if you teach them about money, spending and budgeting now

That’s probably the last word I wanted to hear while stranded on one of Fiji’s miniscule northern islands

Right now I know a lot of women getting ready to go back to work after maternity leave. Some are keen to get back (hot coffee and adult conversation — yay!) and some are finding it really hard to get psyched.

We’ve all been deeply touched by the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Japan last Friday. According to the Red Cross, Canadians have already raised over one million dollars as of Sunday, in support of one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded. Social media has played a huge role in the success of these relief efforts, with celebrities and organizations urging others to donate via Twitter.

I’ve never been a perfume gal. In fact, I’ve never bought perfume at all.

Well this weekend, we put our house on the market. I could hardly see the paperwork between my tears. But things turned in a direction we couldn't have expected, in a very short period of time.

In order to celebrate the results of my gestational diabetes test (negative!) I thought it would be fitting to attempt the Ultimate chocolate-chip cookies recipe. My mother pointed out that I have made very few dessert recipes and she was right: I shy away from baking as I fear disappointing my family with either raw or overcooked baked goods. I thought that the cookie recipe would be a good one to boost my ego.

Today in the news: Where rich Americans cook; the Tim Hortons lid gets a makeover; Canada’s chord blood bank to open in 2013; announce your pregnancy on WombTube; and Hillary after the dentist.

Doris Elizabeth Nerio Rodríguez has been making tortillas in San Salvador for 15 years. My $25 will help her stay ahead of the inflation curve and grow her businesses. With the help of my money (and the money from others), she can purchase more of the maize and lime she needs to make her tortillas, and more ingredients means more tortillas and more income.

I hit 5K! I hit 5K! I love goal-setting, and in my training plan to do a 10K in May and a half-marathon in September, I hit my first milestone distance last week: running five kilometres (while being pelted with wet snow and rain, no less).

Confused about whether you should stretch before exercising? Our fitness expert James Fell has the scoop

Saturated fat has given coconut oil a bad reputation, but it's actually a great source of energy in its unprocessed form. Try it out in this recipe for jam dot cookies.