Hey EnglishRose,
It is all very confusing! There is a great website called Fertility Friend (www.fertilityfriend.com) that has heaps of information on taking your temps and mucus.
With the temps though, you just need to buy a digital thermometer (which you can order online from www.lullabyconceptions.com) and keep it beside your bed and every morning when you wake up just take your temp straight away before you get up and record it. After you ovulate you should see your temp go up!
My acupuncturist also told me that fertile mucus can come and then go and then come again in one cycle! I was like "That is just great!".
Good Luck with it all.
SAM