Monday, October
24th, 2005. Hello, hello,
hello! Man, you look gooood!
Have you been using extra cream on your face? Very smoooth... a little wrinkly
around the bottom, but smoooth at the top -- really, one good side
is plenty, I say, and one day I'll really believe myself! ha,ha,ha! Which reminds
me. I'm doing a little experiment on myself to see if you can get rid of wrinkles
at the gym. I'll let you know how it all works out! So far, nuthin', but I'm
ever-hopeful... I have a firm belief (something oughtta be firm...)
that the Gym is my Key to Permanent Youth.
Or Youthful with a Permanent... one of those things. I took Friday off since
Aidan had the whole day off
school, which he was very, very excited about, what with Grade One being the
stressful year that it is, so fer sures I better go
to the gym, today, lest my plans for Perma-Youth
go down the drain.
So our 7th Wedding Anniversary was on the Weekend,
and we survived it. A little trying during the day, since Dwightforgot it was our Anniversary (or so he claimed),
and when he was out working in the garage, I quickly put out his Anniversary
Gifts and a Card (yes, the relatively generic 'Well, Happy Anniversary, then
... You..." card!) on the Dining Room Table. Dwight comes in and says,
"Oh, what's all this for?" True story. I'm not even making this up...
I said to him, "They're your Anniversary Presents, since today is our Anniversary...".
He says, "Oh." Not "Happy Anniversary" as one might expect.
And you wonder why we ain't livin' in paradise! ha,ha,ha!
Ah, well. Eventually, Dwight went into Town (Okotoks,
Alberta, which is 7 minutes away -- a fair trek in 'The Country') and got a
card, which he deftly placed in front of his gifts, like it had been there all
along, and I just hadn't been observant enough to see it. Then he asks me what
am I going to make him for lunch. (I'm not telling you this story to make you
jealous...) So you can imagine that by the time we were finished our Silent
Lunch, I was not particularly happy with Dwight, but I wanted to get the gift
giving over with, and, as I had thought earlier in the day, like any loving
wife, I'll be damned if I'm gonna say Happy Anniversaryfirst.
I told Dwight to go ahead and open his presents, and he handed me my card. "To
my best wife yet..." har,har! (Oh, that cracks me up, and I'm
the writer! Oh, and I'm paraphrasing for considerably more fun, as often happens
when paraphrasing...)
My gift was written into
the card, because someone didn't realize there was a whole year before the anniversary
to get said gift. "My gift to you is a pair of earings that we
can pick out togeather..." No, spelling's not Dwight's strong
point. Apparently, spelling isn't the key to Financial Success! ha,ha,ha! Try
telling that to all the Primary School Teachers with Yardsticks... or perhaps
that's just my own past... Anyway, to make what has now become a very long story
a tad shorter, we went out for a really lovely dinner at The Newport Grill,
which used to be called The Inn on the Lake at BonaVista, because it's beautifully
located right on the water, then went straight to the Mall to buy me some Chocolates
(really, who doesn't know I need chocolates on every
holiday, and any other occassion that presents itself for gift-giving?? Dwight
claimed he didn't know I liked chocolates so much...), then off to the next
Mall to buy some Earrings.
I think Dwight was surprised by my determination
to make good on the 'Gift in the Card', but why not? I'd been painting Trim
in the Garage all week, and God Knows I'm a good wife to him (if only a wee
bit bitter... like my favorite chocolate, I'm Bitter-Sweet! ya'ha,ha! Man, I'm
just entertaining myself, today!). Anyway, we found some nice Earrings, but
when I asked about getting Aquamarines in the place of the Blue Sapphires, the
guy went on about how much more expensive that would be, blah, blah, blah, so
we went to the next
Jeweler, and wouldn't you know it, I found me a beeeeautiful Aquamarine
Ring, with Three Squarecut Aquamarines and 6 little Diamonds. Gorgeous. Dwight
said I had enough Rings, and what finger would I put it on, so I took off the
'old' Aquamarine Ring
and replaced it with the new one. Fantastic! Now I'm soooo happy.
See what a little Jewelry
can do for a Relationship?
Enough about me, let's talk about TV,
my next favorite thing to chocolate! Did you catch Desperate Housewives,
last night? Yahoo! It's back on track with being great! I was a little worried
for a while, there, but now Lynette is Empowered and Fabulous, as all the 'Real
Housewives' like to think of ourselves, and Nina, her Boss, has loosened up.
Good. Who wants to watch extra-bitchiness on Sunday night before the next work-week?
And you know that whole 'someone creepy is in the basement' theme that's goin'
on? Now, I've taught Special Needs
Students for a long time, and not a whole lot of them knew what 'execute'
meant, or would have quickly made the connection the story was all about them.
Hmmm. And I thought it was the Dad who was down in
the dungeon, not her son, so that was interesting. Raises an interesting issue
of how far would you go to protect your child, especially if you knew they had
done something horrible... Food for thought. But mostly, didn't Lynette look
great??
Well, I still have a whole lot of Baseboard to
paint -- it's a Semi-Gloss White Paint, and I have a quick Painting Tip. Oh,
and we had the Painter over to get the Quote for painting the Two
New Fireplace Mantels . There's a lot of work in taping off the area, since
it's going to be sprayed, so very labor-intensive.
In case you are at the Stage when you are looking
for a Painter to do your Whole House (Interior), brace yourself before you
look at the estimates, and always
get at least two estimates. Painting is always more than you think it will
be, so squeak open that wallet and prepare for the money to fall out!
Painting Tip: When you are painting
Baseboard or a smallish area that has to be really smooth, use a Brush first
to put on a good coat of paint, then go over the entire area with a small Foam
Roller. It leaves a beautiful finish, with no lines.
-
Here are a couple of my favorite Hallowe'en
Costumes over the years... Aidan
loves to buy the costumes, but when it comes time to actually put the costume
on, it's a whole other story. I always have to have a 'back-up' costume I can
throw over his coat, since, invariably, it starts to snow just on your
way out to go Trick-or-Treating! Oh, Canada. How cold and harsh you are... I
think those are the first few words of the Canadian National Anthem... See Tia,
our sweet little dog? She loves to check out Aidan -- a little smell here,
a wee sniff there... Aidan's 6, now, and just as cute as ever!
Thanks for popping in for a wee visit! It's always
so lovely to see you. Next time maybe you can bring me a chocolate ... or I'll
just share mine with you -- really, I shouldn't eat them all
by myself...! I'll make you a nice hot cup of tea, or Hot
Apple Cider with plenty of Vanilla Rum, depending on how much of a lush
you is, and if it's almost Noon, which everybody knows is called, 'The Drinkin'
Hour', or 'Lunch'. Anyhooo, I hope you have a fabulous day and fantastic
week -- who knows what'll happen?!
<>
These wee dogs are just hilarious to look at! If you have a minute,
pop in and have a wee look -- you're guaranteed a smile! I know,
some folks don't like dressing up their dogs, but it is a lot of fun , and they're
soooo cute! One year for Hallowe'en, we dressed our wee dog,
Tia, up as Cara's Agent, and that was very entertaining -- mostly for us!
<Click
here to find the perfect costume>(For
Yourself!)
Monday, October 17th, 2005. Full
Moon, last night -- did you see it? Beeeautiful, and apparently it
means there'll be BIG changes with it -- man, I hope so! I've been busy reading
every don Miguel Ruiz book I
can get a hold of, and now I'm waiting for whatever new thing the Universe has
in store for me... Oooh, hope it's Love & Money!
Perhaps a New House! ha,ha,ha! Our 7th Anniversary is coming up this week (second
marriage, met 10 years ago, but both married on the same day 18 years ago, so
have a weird connection that seems much, much longer because of that... that
and the incredibly looong, and some might say dull, stories
about Plumbing and Air Conditioning...!). Anyway, brings up a lot of thoughts...
I was at WalMart,
yesterday (and pretty much every other day!), looking for an Anniversary Card,
but there wasn't one card that said, "Happy Anniversary. Can you believe
we're still together??" I was standing there, looking at all these mushy
cards, expressing all sorts of love and stuff for their Spouses, and wondered
if people really do feel that way about their husband
or wife. Hmmm. Maybe they haven't done a Renovation or House Build together!
ha,ha,ha! We just barely made it through the latest work in the house -- the
Fireplace Mantelplaces. They're
done, now, and they look fantastic, so I'm glad I forced the issue, but I know
I put the whole relationship on the line for something I felt strongly about
in the house... first things first, I always say! That made me mad, though,
that an item in a Build would cause such a fuss. Nothing in the card section
about that!
I was gonna write on Friday, so I could mention
about The Apprentice,
but those crazy Girls won't stop fighting for two seconds, and they're makin'
us look bad! It makes it look like women just can't get along in the workplace,
but that's not true, at all. I do love the girls who
think no one understands or likes them because they're soooobeautiful. Yes, that's right. It's their beauty that's the problem. Or
sooo much smarter than everyone else that they can't
lower themselves enough to talk to anyone beneath them (everyone), which makes
living just a tad tricky, given how many folks there is on da planet, 'n all...
I think a lot of it is just an Age thing, though,
since the older you get, then more you realize how little you know, especially
if you have, say, Teenagers...
they're sure to remind you when an opportunity for such a statement happens
to arise. (Just thought of something much funnier to me, that maybe I could
say, if I'm ever on The
Apprentice, and there's a fight brewing..."Don't hate me 'cause I'm
fat, Goils, I'm happy to share my chocolates with youse..") (One more small
note -- girls, women, females... they looove being called 'Goils',
and it's fun to say, so give it a try in your next Board Meeting and see how
that goes! ha,ha,ha!)
Hey, what's goin' on with Desperate
Housewives (as opposed to Content Mousewives...hmmm, hope
that's not meee! No, can't be, since I'm clearly a
malcontent! ha,ha,ha! Okay, that's purely for my own amusement!)? I hope they
make Lynnette's Character more likable, again, since I really couldn't be bothered
with the focus on one kid with the Imaginary Friend she was jealous of -- and
the kid's in school, so it's not like she wouldda seen him all that much, anyway...
I know I had a terrible time parting with Cara when I went back to work after
a really horrible First Marriage ended and I had to earn a living -- she was
only 15 months old when I went back to Teaching, and it was heart-breaking to
leave her to go out to work. But here's the thing -- I had the most wonderful
CareGivers on the Planet, and that made all the difference in the world. As
soon as I saw that Cara was having
a great day, everything worked out, and it was the best thing for me, at the
time, to be with other Adults.
Now with Aidan,
who has just turned 6, he was a completely different story. We tried to put
him in a Day Home when I went down to L.A.
by mysef, last year, and he only lasted for 3 hours. The CareGiver was only
used to girls, and couldn't cope with slightly crazy Aidan... and since
we have such a big house, he's able to run and jump pretty much anywhere around
the house, but that didn't translate well in a regular sized home... anyway,
he's in School full-time, now, so I'm ready to to see what's out there for me.
And I won't feel guilty like old Lynnette, since it wouldn't even occur
to Aidan that I would love him less because I'm working outside
the home -- that's craaazy. Maybe that's the last
of that storyline... and more of the Plumber, who is wearing too much clothing.
Oh, and you know which Character on Desperate
Housewives that I identify with the most? Edie.(Nicollette
Sheridan) Because she's the most normal one, from where I stand, and I hope
to one day have a body like that.... not hers, completely,
since I know she's Engaged, now, 'n all, and who knows how jealous her Fiance
is (!), but a body that looks like her! I'm loving
being back at the Gym, where there's a real hope of attaining such a body...
and I want to get the message out there that Weight
Lifting at a nice Gym (or at Home)
will not make women all bulky at all -- it just tones your body 'til it's gorgeous,
and wouldn't we all love that?? I've only been back at the Gym for a little
over 4 weeks, and already I've lost and inch in the middle, and my arms are
not nearly so flappy, so that's good! I'm tellin' ya, it's like the
Fountain of Youth, which fits in well
with my big Life Plan of looking great at 95. Wish me luck! ha,ha,ha!
Quick Real Estate Tip: Whether
you are just starting out with Real Estate or you've made a bunch of money and
are looking for a good investment, go check out the 'Pre-Construction Properties'.
You can now put money down on a New Condo or House before it's buiilt, and you
can stand to make a lot of money from this type of purchase. Often you will
find that by the time the New Home is ready to actually move into, the price
will have dramatically increased. You can sell it right away, without even moving
in, yourself, or (and this is better if you want to save the Taxes on a Quick
Sale) you could move into your New Property for a couple of years, sell and
do the whole thing over again. You'll save the money on Taxes and make more
money from the additional Property Values, since Real
Estate goes up. (Rarely, rarely, does it ever
go down, but if it does, just sit tight on your place, and sell when the Market
picks up...)
Okay, better get going. To
the Gym... Batman.
Oooh, there are two new Letters on my Ask
Ailsa Page, so pop in to check them out,
and I'm working on my Christmas
& Holiday Shopping page, since it's no time at all before the Holidays,
and it's good to be prepared! I made up a new Teen
Shopping page, too, since I have a lot of Teenagers on my Gift List, and
I like to get them really cool stuff. Now I've added in all sorts of things
I just think Teenagers would
like, so there's yet another page to check out!
Thanks for popping in for
a wee visit! See ya, Baby! Love & Laughter, Ailsa
eBay
is the world's online marketplace where you can buy and sell practically anything!
Over 6 Million items, so get shopping! Register for Free and place any bid!
eBay has a great Real Estate Section for you to check out... why not put in
a Bid and see what happens??eBay
, eBay.co.uk
Friday, October
7th, 2005. Hey, You, Good Lookin', and
I don't just mean your fabulous eyeballs, neither... I mean the Whole
Package... no, no. Don't go any further down that path... you
know where that sort of thinking leads -- straight
to the Bar, that's right. And we can't head to the Bar at least 'til Noon, since
apparently that's 'The Rule'. Stooopid Rules.
They really prevent you from having all sorts of fun... Oh, you know what? You
know how I just joined a Gym, again? It's been ten years since I've been to
a 'Real Gym' (Dwight had a million reasons why I shouldn't join a Gym,
but this is just for me, and not about him... and yes, that is a part
of the Fireplace Mantel Decision, where I went against Dwight
to hire the guy to build the Mantelplace,
and he'll be here tomorrow -- WooHoo! I'se a Adult, again!)
So here's the great thing about being back at
'The Gym'. For one, I think I've lost
5 pounds in the last couple of weeks, so that's fantastic (!), I'm much happier
since I get to see other humans, many over Age 6, which is great, since I was
pretty worried that when Aidan,
my 6 year old, started Grade One, I might not see another Adult Human until
the end of school next June... good to see that fear
is gone! ha,ha,ha! I always find it odd when I hear some people say they hate
working out, because I find it really relaxing. Maybe because it's more fun
than, say, cleaning the toilet! (Like those are my two options!) (And that's
not even true, since Dwight says I could clean the floors, too... ya'ha,ha!)
Anyway, since I'm enjoying being back at The
Gym, I remembered all my favorite Exercises, and I've learned some great
new Exercises from the people at the gym. That's a great place to meet new Friends,
to, since you can have little tiny conversations while you're working out. Yesterday
it occurred to me that the Gym is like a mini-Swap Meet, but
for Husbands... since the women talk about their husbands and ex-husbands, and
it could be a fairly functional 'Mix 'n Match' deal. I think meeting a new Partner
is easier for women to find when you talk to other women, 'cause they always
know a Good Guy, right?? Or you might see some lovely 'eye-candy' that seems
appealing... paws off if the rings are still on, though...! ha,ha!
I wrote a new
page with my little Gym Tips that I thought might be useful, and already
I've shown a bunch of women at the gym my favorite 'Get
Rid of Cellulite' Exercise -- it's fabulous! What I love about going to
the Gym to do this Exercise is that I can use a lot more Weight than I can at
home, since, for one, I don't have a 30 pound dumbell at home (really, he weighs
waaaay more than that... sorry Dwight! ha,ha,ha! And yes,
that one was for my own amusement, and yes, I am laughing out loud,
now!), and I don't have anyone at home who can place that weight between my
feet for me, without any further incident, which can be mostly annoying... But
I'm thrilled that in a mere three weeks, I've increased the Weight from 10 pounds
to 30 pounds, and I think I'll move up to the 35 pound Weight next week... Yippee!
Very Empowering.
Hey, did you see The
Apprentice, last night? Oh, those crazy Girls. I'm having a tough time telling
most of them apart -- do you find that, too? They all seem oddly similar, and
many with incredibly annoying Voices... which reminds me of 'The Pink Ladies'
on The Amazing Race. Cara and I used to really like The
Amazing Race, but this Season they have kids (ugh, who can be bothered with
that, especially after Bed-time?? ha,ha! Oh, I know I'm not the only loving
parent who doesn't want to see many kids on an adult show!) Turns out, the kids
are neither here nor there, but those Pink Ladies
are too high-pitched for me. (On Both Shows.) Just too many people on The Amazing
Race, now, so don't know how that will work out. Hope it doesn't spoil any further
Seasons, since I hope they bring it back with groups of Two...
better Drama & Adventure.
Who was Fired last night? Elizabeth something?
Cannot believe I still haven't picked up their names! Whiney and Whinier, I
call them. "A little Cheese with that Whine?", I say...
Quick Parenting
Tip: If you have a whiney kid (and we all have them, it's just
a matter of getting it under control), the easiest way to 'Stop the
Whining' is to give your child the exact line that you would prefer
to hear, and in the Tone you want. So let's say they are whining about a snack.
"I wannnna snaaaack." (Be
sure to screw your face up when you say that, repeat it about ten times, maybe
stamp your feet and cry a wee bit, too...) Here's what you do:
Stand quietly, stop the action, and say to the child, "Mummy, may
I please have a snack?". The kid automatically mimics you, learns
what to say, how to say it, and can then become clear
in their communication. Of course, if you happen to be 'The Daddy', the Caregiver,
the Granny... whoever, consider substituting your
very own Title with 'Mummy'! Try it and let
me know how it works out for you. Your house will be calmer in no time.
Somebody should provide a Voice Coach for them
goils. Wouldn't it be great if that was introduced
as a Course at the High School, or Junior High Level, where Kids could learn
early how important your Voice is, and how much more effective your communication
is if you speak clearly and don't have a grating voice?? If they could just
drop the High Pitch by an octave, or two... Although, you know what's
really funny? Have you ever noticed when you are talking to a really great Friend,
your voice changes with the person? I'm sure only dogs can understand
what I'm saying when I talk with one of my favorite Friends, Kim, (she's the
one who convinced me to buy a computer,
then walked me through how to sign up for e-mail and actually use it...
Thank God for Kim!). When we start talking, and the jokes are flying, our voices
get higher and higher with every laugh, and if we're together in person, and
then there's a wee bit of alcohol invovled, forget
about it! ha,ha,ha! (Must call her for a good, high-pitched laugh!)
Well, regardless of the Voices,
I love The Apprentice.
It's always great entertainment, and you can learn a wee something. like, try
not to yell at your Boss, or, try not to blame everyone else
for your colossal failure when they might have it on tape... invaluable
things like that.
Okay, gotta go have my Apple
Crumble before I head to the Gym -- already had my share of the 'Hallowe'en
Candy', or as it is more accurately known, 'My
Chocolate Stash'... be good when all these delicious Tiny Chocolate Bars
aren't so readily available in my Pantry! Then my time at the Gym might be even
more useful! I'm sure there must be one muscle group
that does well with the addition of chocolate to your diet!
Love & Laughter (or whichever one comes first...
hopefully both at the same time!), Ailsa!
Almost Forgot! Happy
Thanksgiving to all my Canadian Readers!! Easy
Pie Recipe
Hey, you can help spread the word about my Site
-- here's a new 'Tell A Friend' that my friend James made for me.
He's been working away to teach me some new things for my website that I desperately
need to learn to make the improvements I really want. Oh, and don't feel restricted
by the whole 'Tell a Friend' thing. You don't even have to really
like someone to tell them about www.buildyourownhouse.ca!
What do I care? I'm just interested in loads and loads of people coming in for
a visit -- maybe even buying something through the Site! And who knows??? Maybe
they'll quit borrowing money from you by learning how to Manage
their own money after reading my Articles!
ha,ha! So here it is, and it's easy schmeasy to use!<
> Thank You!! Soon we'll be enormous!
(And I don't mean just because of all the Caramel Apples, neither! ha,ha,ha!)
Uh, oh... I see there's no apostrophe in the Friends Name Box --
must tell James! Rest assured ( I don't want you to lose sleep over this!),
I do know it needs and 's... we'll fix it for you! See ya'! Ailsa
- At
Home with Ailsa -- My Update Page! - December
'05 - November '05 -
October '05 - September
'05 - August '05 - July
'05 -June
'05 -
May '05 - April
'05 * March '05
* February '05 * January
'05 * December '04 * November
'04 * October '04 * September
'04 * August '04 * July
'04 * June '04 * May
'04* April '04* Archived
At Home With Ailsa Pages * At
Home I * At
Home II * At
Home III * At
Home IV - At
Home With Ailsa - Menu /dressedupAidan1lg.jpg)
- /dressedupa&T1lg.jpg)
Here are a couple of my favorite Hallowe'en
Costumes over the years... Aidan
loves to buy the costumes, but when it comes time to actually put the costume
on, it's a whole other story. I always have to have a 'back-up' costume I can
throw over his coat, since, invariably, it starts to snow just on your
way out to go Trick-or-Treating! Oh, Canada. How cold and harsh you are... I
think those are the first few words of the Canadian National Anthem... See Tia,
our sweet little dog? She loves to check out Aidan -- a little smell here,
a wee sniff there... Aidan's 6, now, and just as cute as ever!
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