Blog Posts by Sarah B. Weir, Yahoo! blogger

25 key vocab building blocksA two-year-old's limited vocabulary may red flag hearing problems, autism, or dyslexia. Researchers from the Child Study Institute at Bryn Mawr College have identified a list of 25 words every toddler should be using by age two. Dr. Leslie Rescorla, the director of the institute, presented her findings at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The Daily News reports that Professor Nan Bernstein Ratner, who moderated the panel, described these words as the "canary in the coal mine."

The average toddler uses 75-225 words and is able to combine them into phrases. Twenty-five is considered the minimum for late talkers. In a previous study, Rescorla demonstrated that children with normal delayed speech tend to catch up by four or five. She adds that when helping late talkers build their language skills, it's a good idea to focus on basic vocabulary.

The 25 common words that should form the building blocks of a toddler's vocabulary:

-all

When I recently conducted interviews with women, ages 13-82, about whether they lie about their weight, a typical response was, "who doesn't?" A 2011 survey shows that at least 68% of women admit the number listed on their license is incorrect. "When I first got my license I weighed 130 pounds," says 41-year-old Meredith. "I kind of left it there, even though at times I have been well over that number." Lying to a friend or lover out of vanity (or shame) is one thing, but lying to the DMV?

The prevalence of fibbing to strangers highlights the fact that many women are so perturbed by the actual number on the scale they choose to fool themselves-or even their physician. I spoke to a many women who said they don't lie about their weight except at the doctor's office. Emily, 34, acknowledges, "I almost always lie at the doctor's if I know I can get away with it." The CDC reports a significant portion of women underestimate their BMI on medical surveys, which has public health policy

Women's reproductive rights vary widely from state to state. According to Naral Pro-Choice America, in 2011, 26 states enacted 69 anti-choice measures including bans on abortions after 20 weeks (without adequate exceptions to protect a woman's health or for when pregnancy was a result of rape or incest) and funding restrictions for lower income women. Many states also have requirements for waiting periods and ultrasounds before obtaining an abortion. Texas and Oklahoma insist a woman seeking an abortion view the ultrasound.

Related: Unborn babies and legal rights: What do Personhood Bills really mean for women?

Even in states with fewer restrictions, obtaining an abortion from a licensed physician can be difficult. The Guttmacher Institute reports that 87% of U.S. counties lack an abortion provider.

Four states, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, and South Dakota, have an complete abortion ban on the books that would automatically go into effect if Roe v. Wade were overturned

Another annoying day at the office? Are you frequently annoyed by your co-workers? You are not alone. Yahoo! Shine partnered with Fitness Magazine to survey over 2,000 women and men, and we found that a whopping 79% of employees feel aggrieved at their place of work. Chalk it up to open plan seating or recession stress, that's a lot of crankiness causing friction around the water cooler.

Workers are annoyed with both the personal behavior and the work habits of their colleagues. Topping the list among men, 41% are turned off by co-workers' body odor. Nearly as many women think their colleagues could do better in the hygiene department, about 38%. (People, there is a cure for that. It's called roll-on).

Read also: Surprising Ways You May Be Grossing Out Your Co-workers

Women are most likely to be annoyed when another steals credit for their ideas. This peeve is number one on the list for 41% of all women (and 36% of men). Perhaps because younger employees are less likely to speak up for themselves on the job,

Chile peppers range from extra mild to super hotThe first thing I wondered when I heard that a new pepper, the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, had been crowned the world's hottest, was, can you cook with it? Assuming scientists had cultivated the plant for industrial use in bottled hot sauce or even defensive pepper spray, I spoke with Dr. Paul Bosland, the renowned pepper expert (or as he prefers, "connoisseur"), who raised and tested the champion at New Mexico State University's Chile Pepper Institute. "These were originally grown in backyards to be used in cuisine," he explains. The same goes for the previous record holder, the Bhut Jolokia or "Ghost Pepper" from India. Bosland adds, "'Moruga' is the town in Trinidad where the seeds were first developed and "Scorpion" refers to a little appendage on the fruit."

Related: Five Chili Secrets From the Pros

Measuring Chile Pepper Heat

Chile pepper heat is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHUs), which indicate how much the active compounds called capsaicins need to be diluted so

In a surprising about face, former supermodel Cindy Crawford says her daughter Kaia Gerber will need to wait until she's 17 to be a model. "At this point, she's too young to pursue a career. There aren't even a handful of jobs for a 10-year-old girl," Crawford told The Daily. Crawford was initially enthusiastic about her daughter's foray into modeling.

Related: "SI" 2012 Cover Model Revealed

Gerber, who looks strikingly like her mother, was an overnight sensation when she modeled for Versace's new line of children's clothing in January 2011. On the shoot, Crawford says she didn't want to "...be a stage mom and make her nervous. She knew I was there looking out for her. She’s done little modeling things with me, but it was always with me, and this was just her. And I really wanted her to have that experience." She adds that she was surprised at how the quickly the images of her daughter wearing a cropped leather jacket and mini-skirt made headlines around the world. In a press

Hazardous to your health? Could a pretty pucker be the kiss of death? According to Reuters, about 400 lipsticks recently tested by the FDA contain traces of lead. In 2007, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics ran its own tests on 33 red lipsticks and found that one-third exceeded the FDA's limit for lead in candy. Lead levels have gone up since then.

Related: Safe Skincare Guide

The FDA pushed back in its latest report stating that: "Lipstick, as a product intended for topical use with limited absorption, is ingested only in very small quantities. We do not consider the lead levels we found in the lipsticks to be a safety concern." However, Stacy Malkan, of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics disagrees. "We know that ingestion of lipstick happens," she told Reuters. She also points out that lead accumulates in the body over time.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is particularly concerned about lead exposure for children and pregnant women. The CDC's Advisory Committee for Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention

Healthy nugget lunch? A four year-old pre-kindergartner's homemade lunch consisting of a turkey and cheese sandwich, a banana, a bag of potato chips, and an apple juice didn't pass muster at West Hoke Elementary School in Robeson County, North Carolina. Instead, a lunch monitor employed by the state insisted she eat the USDA-approved cafeteria lunch.

According to a report in a local paper, the Carolina Journal, the girl's mother (who wanted to remain anonymous), discovered the switch when her daughter came home with her packed lunch untouched. When she asked what her daughter ate for lunch, the little girl responded, "Three chicken nuggets."

USDA guidelines for pre-K programs stipulate that lunch (whether brown bagged or provided by the cafeteria) must include one serving of meat, one serving of grain, and two servings of a fruit or a vegetable. Speaking with the Journal, the child's grandmother suspected that the packed lunch was banned because of the potato chips and lack of a vegetable. A