BUILD YOUR OWN HOUSE! Home * Site Menu * At Home with Ailsa *Ask Ailsa * Ailsa's Bio * Photo Gallery * Recipes * Tips * Carbon Monoxide Detector * Home Improvement Shopping * 10 Tips to Sell Your House Faster! * Mortgages & Other Financial Stuff! * Real Estate * Home Improvement * Online Education * Travel * Gifts for Men *Financial Prayer * *Fundraising *Insurance *Linens 'n Things * Decorating *Business Cards * Shoes & Clothes! * My Amazon Page * Jewelry * Skin Care * The Scottish Diet * Fitness At Home *Sex Tip * Freebies! * Books & Magazines *Personal Breathalizer * Shopping * Astrology for 2006 * Flowers * Gifts for Women * Shoes & Clothes* Steve Madden Shoes * Art * Books & Magazines * Tell a Friend about This Site

< >

At Home With Ailsa - May 2005

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

May 5th, 2005. Ola! Happy Cinco de Mayo!! Que pasa, Baby? (Or, Que Paso?, depending on which part of my Demographics you're in!) Now you can do a sly little answer to "Que pasa, Baby?" -- say "Nada. Toda via..." and wink. Yes, your friends will laugh, but the neighbors are more likely to look away, turn, and perhaps start running. Don't let that bother you, since you'll, hopefully, be drinking a few Strawberry Margaritas or maybe a little Tequila! I'm making Salsa Chicken for Dinner, tonight -- a little taste of Mexico up here in Canada! Click here for the Recipe for Salsa Chicken -- it's easy to make and deeelicious!

The other thing you might want to have for Dinner, tonight, to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, is Taco Spaghetti. I'd make it, but we just had it a couple of days ago, so Salsa Chicken it is... And for years Aidan pronounced 'Chicken' as 'Chichen', so we often still refer to chicken that way for a little extra fun -- 'Salsa Chichen'!

I was thinking about my old Students at a Special Needs School I taught at in Los Angeles, today, because they taught me how to speak a little Spanish. So, of course, any Spanish that I have has a Handicapped flavor to it. Funny. La Cook-her-haaah-cha was the 'song of choice' in that Classroom, and we would all belt it out. And there was one Student that I had at Hollywood High whose name was Jaime. Being Canadian with lots of knowledge of French but very little experience with Spanish, I kept calling him "Jame-ie" instead of "Hymie". The kids couldn't stop laughing, and finally they told me his name was pronounced "Hymie", which I thought was funny since all I could think of was the Character on Maxwell Smart who used to hide in the Mail Box! Took me a while to catch on to the 'New Letter Sounds'!

Speaking of Schools, it's National Teacher Appreciation Week in the States. I'm not sure what we have in Canada -- my guess is that we don't have anything, which is unfortunate. I like the way they have special weeks and days to thank and appreciate different people -- very nice. In fact, I found people in the U.S. to be extrememly kind and thankful. There's a whole concern out there that Americans are self-centered and arrogant, but that is in no way true, and it drives me crazy when I hear people spouting off their mouths about that when they would glady take a Trip to any U.S. Destination if it were offered to them. I hate when people make Statements without any real knowledge behind them -- annoyink!

Anyway, it's wonderful to see that Teachers are truly appreciated for all the hard work that they do(and if you have ever thought that teaching is easy, try it for a day and see what you think at 4:00pm when you're completely wiped out...!). Now if we could just figure out a way for Teachers to be paid more so we can kep more Teachers in the Field and attract more Young People into Teaching. And if there is a way that we can value Experienced Teachers who cost too much for many School Districts, so they try to hire very young teachers because they are so much cheaper ... that's not a good trend.

Oh, and here's a little secret that many parents might not know about their kid's teachers -- they don't like all the testing, either. The vast majority of the Standardization Tests are politically based, and not there for the child's education. The Standardized Tests take up a massive amount of Teaching Time, and make it even more difficult to cater to each student's individual needs. If you have a concern about the amount of Testing in your School, voice your opinion about it. Maybe the change needs to come from the bottom, up, like a Grassroots Movement.

I think we should, as parents and educators, deal with the sometimes crazy amount of Homework that some kids have, these days. When Cara was in Grade Four, she had over 3 hours of homework a night, and it was work she couldn't do alone, so I had to spend the full three hours doing this asinine homework. It was a total nightmare, so I switched her out of that class into a much better one, where Cara flourished without the massive amounts of homework. I'm not sure when this trend toward giving hours and hours of homework, particularly for young children, came about. I don't remember having that sort of homework when we were kids, do you? And look how smart we is!! yuff, yuff! I think the problem comes when the child has 6 classes and each class requires 30 minutes of homework. That not good -- even Neanderthal Neds knows it. What to do, what to do?

Did Mother's Day surprise you, this year? I was sure I had a full two weeks from the 1st of May until Mother's Day, but because May 1st fell on a Sunday, I had to madly rush around to get the Gifts for my Mum arranged. I ordered some gorgeous Flowers through Gifttree.com -- they have a great selection of Gits and will Deliver anywhere in the U.S. and Canada, so it's very useful for me. Plus, I've used their Gift Giving Service before, and the Flowers were always gorgeous. It's not too late to find something lovely for your Mother -- check my Mother's Day Gifts to see if you can find something nice for your Mum!

Tip of the Week: I just discovered this and I think it's great, so here's a wee 'Skin Tip' for you or anyone you know who might benefit from this info... I am always looking for new products to make your skin better, so here's what I have found to be amazing. It's the same 'Dissolved Aspirin' base, but you mix in the dissolved aspirin in with a little bit of Johnson & Johnson's Clean & Clear - Persa-Gel-5. It has 5% Benzoyl Peroxide, so it seems to work really wel with the Aspirin. There's another cream, too, called OXY-5 that works the same way. You put a small amount of this mixture on any blemish or area where your pores are larger than you like then to be. Definitely worth trying -- preferably at night!

Happy Cico de Mayo, and a Very Happy Mother's Day, if I don't see you before Sunday!

Mi casa e su casa, so pop in any time!

Mucho Amore, Baby!

(Hope that 'amore' bit is right -- I just know it from all the Barry White Songs! ha,ha,ha!)

Ailsa

<FTD.COM-Send Mom Fresh Flowers><Wine Gifts & Baskets><Gourmet Gift Towers><Chocolate Gifts> < One Dozen Assorted Roses plus FREE Vase & FREE Chocolates, only $29.99! >< Lilies, Iris & Tulips all in the Mother's Day Bouquet at ProFlowers - only $39.99! ><Order by May 5th at 3pm ET for a free FedEx shipping upgrade at Blue Nile.>Mother's Day Shopping

< >

Tell a Friend about My Site - Mother's Day Gifts * Check Your 2005 Astrological Forecast! * Freebies! * Fitness with Ailsa * Ailsa's Weight Loss Program* Cool Stuff * Travel * Home Search -- MLS * Site Menu

May 10th, 2005. Hey, there, Good Lookin'! How you doin'? (I say that because it can't be all that long before Joey is pulled off the Air for good...!) You'll never believe this, but it's snowing here! Man. Oh Happy Spring in Alberta! Good thing we haven't bothered to plant anything, yet. There are three 'Greenhouse' Seasons in Alberta -- Early May when people can't wait to buy all their fancy new floers and plants to put in their Gardens right away; Early June when everyone who planted too early has to go back to the Greenhouse to buy all new stuff ; and then again in, oh, July, when we've had some major Hail Storm, and all the plants are gone yet again. It's a good place to own a Garden Center! We'll order in our Trees in June -- it's not worth it to put them in too soon.

So yesterday was a weird kind of day for Dwight and I. May 9th is our Old Anniversary Date. Bizzarrely enough, Dwight and I both got married on the same day at roughly the same time 18 years ago -- but to different people. Crazy, eh? So Dwight and I have Two Anniversary Dates that are the same -- May 9th (First Marriages) and October 22nd (Second Marrige!). The odds on that are astronomical, I'm sure. It's one of the reasons Dwight felt we were perfect for each other. And Cara was Due on May 9th, my first Anniversary way back when, but she was two days late and arrived on May 11th, so she is celebrating her 17th Birthday tomorrow. Hard to believe! Cara and I are both going to wear our favorite new Steve Madden Shoes all day!! We're very excited about the Shoes!

Did you have a nice Mother'sDay? I hope you either got a lot of great stuff, or gave a lot of great stuff... I got some great music and a gorgeous Pink Scarf to go with may fancy new Pink Crystal Steve Madden Shoes. I was very excited to wear the Scarf at Dinner on Mother's Day, so I tried on the Dress -- my Wedding Dress, ironically enough -- Dwight and I got married in Santa Barbara, California, so I had popped into a Wedding Boutique in the Garment District in L.A., found a dress I liked -- yes, short! -- took it home and tried it on. It never occurred to me that it might not fit... anyway, it still fits perfectly -- pays not to be too skinny when you get married! ha,ha,ha! So I attached the Pink Scarf to the dress, put on my new shoes and showed Dwight (and everyoe else, including The Dog!), so I would know exactly what I would wear to go out for dinner later that night.

Well, wouldn't you know it? Ten minutes before we were ready to go out to the restaurant, I was carrying my Dress into the Bathroom to change, and Dwight says, "Is that what you're gonna wear??", like he's never seen it before. (I allot 15 minutes to get ready to go out -- even on our Wedding Day, I think I only took about 20 minutes to get ready, because I was busy making my Bouquet and a matching one for Cara, who was our Flower Girl/ Witness -- she was so young she had to stay up the night before practicing how to write her last name to write it on the Marriage Certificate!)

Anyway, I was furious at Dwight for making me feel badly about my choice of clothing -- he has been doing this a fair bit, lately, for some unknown reason -- perhaps he thinks he has some say over me -- who knows! I ended up having to switch to another outfit, which was annoying, but turned out to be okay, since it was freezing in the Restaurant. Ah, well. He knows Alberta weather better than I do. And now it's snowing... right, again!

Did I tell you that a Psychic Cara and I went to last year asked me if I was pregnant last week?? Ugh. I was standing at the Check-out at WalMart, minding my own business and trying to keep Aidan away from the zillion or so Chocolate Bars they have at the Counter to make parents' lives even easier, whe she saw me and asked if I was pregnant right away. Of cousre, I dealt with it very smoothly by saying in a much louder voice than I intended, "No, I'm FAT!" Now, I'm not really fat, so that should've been funny, so I laughed afterwards (also too loud...), but she didn't, and neither did the girl behind the cash. Ugh. To be fair, I was wearing this crazy little top with 'Baby Girl' written on it, not meant for the Over-40 Crowd (Me!), but I liked the color, so I bought it and wear it all the time. And I had done my skirt up on the wrong button (I have a series of buttons on my skirt, so I can bring it in or let it out, depending on how things are going...), so it puckered in the middle. So it was probably an innocent mistake, but doesn't every woman know not to ask any other woman whether she's pregnant, no matter what she looks like?? That's a good Life Lesson!

Well, I better get going. I hope Mother's Day was a whole lot better at your house than it was at mine!

See ya, Baby! Love & Luck, Ailsa

< >

Tell a Friend about My Site - Check Your 2005 Astrological Forecast! * Freebies! * Fitness with Ailsa * Ailsa's Weight Loss Program* Cool Stuff * Travel * Home Search -- MLS * Site Menu

Friday the 13th, May, 2005. Yo, yo. What up with my Home-ies?? Not Homely -- I know you're gorgeous! And Brilliant! Hey, are you excited about the 'Friday the 13th' thing? Friday the 13th is always a lucky day for me, so I love it. Dwight is going to go mad and actually stop to buy a Lottery Ticket (I'll be surprised if it's any more than a $1.00 Ticket!), because he thinks it's lucky, too. I got a long-sought-after Divorce on October 13th, 1995, so that was my very best Friday the 13th...

That reminds me of my old Wedding Jewelry -- have I told you that Dwight wanted me to have it all reconfigured into a necklace with his favorite Jeweler? Yes, well, I went along with it, since it seemed like a good idea, since I still loved the actual Gems (Aquamarines and Diamonds), but couldn't wear them because of the crappy memories... anyway, for some annoying reason, Dwight went down to the Jewelers by himself and picked up MY jewelry. Without my permission. And because the Jeweler knew him, he handed it over to Dwight, who quickly took it over to show his Mother. Then he put this incredibly expensive new piece in his front jean pocket, stopped to make a phone call at a garage (this is pre-cell phone days for Dwight), said he reached into the same pocket to get out a quarter, and my new Jewelry fell out. "Just fell out", in Dwight's words.

Can you imagine my response when he came home and told me? You'd think I'd be angry, but right after Dwight told me he lost my Jewelry, he immediately said, "I'm glad you're calm because I would never be with someone who would freak out over this." Yes. Lucky for Dwight I had just gotten my Final Divorce Papers in the mail, so the first thing I thought was that 'The Universe' had taken these 'memory pieces' out of my life. Lucky Schmuck. (That's not my first choice of words, but I'm tryin' to keep it clean in here!) When he said that, though, that really infuriated me, since I had every right to be furious. I knew that if I didn't stay calm, though, he would not have the clarity of mind to reconstruct the day so I could find my Jewelry. That he picked it up without me in the first place was bad enough, but to show it to his Mother who was none-too-kind to me, that was unbelievable.

We ended up driving back to all the possible places it could've been, but it was no-where to be found. I felt like I had very few choices at that stage in my life, because I didn't think I could take anymore of the stupid court battles with my horrible ex if I were to try yet again to go back to California (where I could actually get a good Teaching Job...), since there was some ridiculous crap about me being able to live 3000 miles away from him in Canada, but not 3000 miles away in California. Control Freaks. SDon't marry one, if you can avoid it. (That's my Big Advice for today! ha,ha!) So then, after that little incident, every time for years and years that Dwight would give my Jewelry, in my mind it was just pay-back for what he had lost. Ain't I lovely?? A Peach. Or maybe a Prickly Pear... whatever! People don't think they have to pay for their mistakes, but somehow, they always do...

Oh, and speaking of Big Mistakes, did you catch Tana on The Apprentice, last night? What was she thinking?? Her Task was to run this big Olympic Presentation Program for the Olympics in New York, but of all the Flags she had, she didn't have an American Flag. Could you believe that?? And didn't seem all too concerned about it, at all. And I thought Tana was great up until last night -- how she dealt with the Governor's Assistant, blowing him off every time he asked for a Schedule, and thinking it wasn't any big deal... man. And how she talked about and dealt with her 'employees' -- that was terrible. As a C.E.O., she'd always have some employess she wouldn't be thriilled with, and you can't be the Boss and diss your Employees. That not good, as Thor would say. Tana wouldn't want to have Thor on her Team -- those Neanderthals ain't nearly as smart as you might think they are... So lookie what I found for you so this'll never happen to you -- or you might jsut like to have a nice new American Flag for Memoorial Day or July 4th!

< > <Click Here to Claim Your Free American Flag! > (www.Americanflag.com has and enormous selection of Flags, so don't get caught off-guard like Tana from The Apprentice! Pop in and see what they have and get your Free American Flag!)

Kendra came through with flying colors -- that girl is a Marketing Genius -- remember the Pamphlet she made pretty much all by herself for the Pontiac Team? It was amazing what she pulled together for the Best Buy and Playstation People. I do wish she would hold her head right up, and not hide behind her hair, but those are probably Age-Related traits. Kendra seemed too young for the job of The Apprentice at the beginning, but now I think she would be ideal to mold into whatever The Donald wants her to be -- maybe she could help get the Trump name out there even more! ha,ha,ha! I was sure that the Finale was last night, but now we have to wait another week -- Sweeps must go well into May -- who knew??

Okay, I better go -- I've been trying to get my new Business Cards all week, but I keep getting side-tracked. Always so much to do! You can get your Business Cards or Personal Cards (just your name and e-mail address -- perhaps a witty little message -- if you are Single and want a safe way to exchange info with anyone you think you might like -- and remember, don't marry a loser! ha,ha,ha!) Take Care (just in case!), and I hope you get lucky, today on Friday the 13th!!

See ya, Baby! Love & Luck, Ailsa

< >

Tell a Friend about My Site - <PSP (Personal Sony Playstation)><Win Great Prizes at PermissionResearch!>

Check Your Astrological Forecast! * Freebies! * Fitness with Ailsa * Ailsa's Weight Loss Program* Cool Stuff * Travel * Home Search -- MLS * Site Menu

Friday, May 20th, 2005. Hey, Baby! What up wit' yo' bad self, hmmmm? Have you been watching an inordinate amount of TV, these days? With all the Season Finales on, it's like the TV is never off! (Good, in my house...!) So Kendra won The Apprentice -- yippee! She was so quiet at the beginning, I had hardly noticed her, but when she was on her own, that girl was amazing. Oh, I love Talented Youth. Makes you feel safe about the Future, no? ha,ha! And I know you loved the 'House' that The Donald has put Kendra in charge of. Wow. What was the square footage, again? 68,000 square feet, maybe? Makes my need for an enormous house seem so very moderate! I loved the formation of the Front Windows, though, so I must keep that in mind for the next house... or perhaps the one after that...!

I still like Tana, since she was great through the entire Season up until the last Task -- did you see the link on my Site for a Free American Flag? What a great deal! Maybe Tana will pop in and get one! ha,ha! It'l be interesting to see who hires Tana, now that she is so well known. Remember Kwame from the Last Apprentice? Remember his Abs? ha,ha,ha! Man, he was good-looking. Anyway (lost myself for a minute, there...!), he landed a fabulous job when he was done with The Apprentice, so you never know where Tana will end up.

Oh, and did you happen to catch 'The Final Rose Ceremony' of The Bachelor earlier in the week? Hilarious. Slightly hokey. Cara and I were watching it (so she can learn from all the crazy 'dating mistakes', like mentioning how totally awful it is to be soooo beautiful, more beautiful and smarterer than them other girls, and how now they all hate her for being more beeeeeautiful then they is...oh, the shame...) ... but we had fun watching it.

We both just about dropped when they were very sensitive with Krisily. Cara noted that it ain't good when you have 'silly' right in your name... and of course that reminded me of a story (surprise, surprise!) about a frined of mine, Rod Sealy. When I was first getting to know him, and we were talking on the phone, I realized I didn't know his Last Name, so I asked him. He said, "It's Sealy". I said, "Come on, it can't be that silly. What is it?" "It's Sealy." "Silly! That's funny. Now tell me your real name!" "It's Sealy -- S-E-A-L-Y." I'm sure you can imagine how funny I thought that was...good thing I'm so easily amused. Hi, Rod, if you're out there! I think he was a UPS Man in the day, and I know for sure that he was a Stripper at night (also very funny -- practically everyone in Los Angeles has a 'second job' that involves Entertainment in some capacity, so it didn't phase me at all. Plus, a lot of the guys who worked out at Venice Beach, where I used to hang out in a thong, so-to-speak, had 'interesting professions' where they could show off their muscles!).

Man, I'm all about 'the Abs', today! What's that all about? Hmmmm. Even Survivor had their Season Finale this past week. We love Survivor -- Cara got us hooked on it years ago, because we thought it would be easier to just watch it with her than have to listen to every tiny detail about people we didn't know (don't you love when people tell you great long stories about folks you don't know and hope never to meet?? ). We were hooked on Survivor (Sounds like they could make a CD called that, "Hooked on Survivor', like the old 'Hooked on Classics' series...), and now we can't wait for the next Survivor in the Mayan Ruins. Sounds great! But we were thrilled that Tom, the New York Firefighter, won the Million Dollars. He was a great competitor, and just his job chice in Life makes him a perfect candidate for a giant check! Now, he was also very handsome, so maybe we'll see him in some sort of 'Bond Apprentice', or something!

Oh, and speaking of Survivor, remember that I have that cool connection for you to buy Buffs like they wear on Survivor -- they are the Custom Buffs, so you can have your own colors and Logo on them. Very unique. Good Marketing Promo. I'm working on a few deals with that, right now, so I'll let you know how they turn out so we can all buy them! Great for making money all for yourself (there's a big Mark-Up if you are Selling), or for a School, Group or Team, if you are Fundraising. Drop me a line if you'd like some more information! I used Cara, my Daughter, and Tia, The Dog, as my very inexpensive Models for The Buffs -- you can pop into see them, if you like! Cute pictures!

I got a very nice letter from one of my Readers, Theresa (Hi, Theresa!), and she was telling me about some Landscaping she was just working on a while ago. She helped to put in a Sand Garden, which I thought sounded cool, so I mentioned it to Dwight, and now I think we might add a Circular Sand Zen Garden to the Back Patio Area. So far, Dwight has cribbed and poured a 6 foot by 6 foot Cement Step, and we've had one fight at the Rock Quarry. We're well on our way to completing the Patio Area! ha,ha! Ah, well. Now I'm working on him to make him agrre with me that we NEED at least three more 'Tree Islands' (Kidney Shaped Islands ful of Trees and Shrubs)... so far he has said he 'will think about it'. Hmmm. Must have more say around here -- wonder how I can get that??

Okay, gotta get going! I bought another Carpet Shampooer -- this one 'Little' to do the Carpet on the Stairs. And it was a very, very lucky thing that I already had the regular Carpet Shampooer, because we had a major Flood thing happen last weekend. An Exterior Tap had weakened from too much Frost this past Winter, so when Dwight turned the thing on, it must have burst. He went on with his work (he's building the Trellis to go under all the Deck Area on both Deacks -- a lot of work...), and left the Trellis from last year for me to clean with the hose. And a scrubbie. When I was done cleaning the Trellis, I went up to turn the Tap off, and I noticed a tiny hole in the Stucco, and the water seemed to be running into it. I ran to the garage to tell Dwight, then ran down the stairs to see if there was any water coming into the house.

Luckily, there was no water damage to the Walls (I thought I would find a water stain somewhere in the Bar Area, directly uner the Sundeck...), so I was relieved to see that. The problem came when I walked over to touch the wall, and my socks were soaked. The water had seeped down the side and ended up on the Floor. The I had to run up the stairs to grab my Carpet Shampooer. I had a quick theory that it might suck up the water from the carpet, and Thank God, it did. So now I highly recommend having a Carpet Shampooer handy in your own home. I have a Dirt Devil, and I love it. It's paid for itself over and over again, now, by saving the day with cleaning the carpet (I use Oxi-clean and Hot Water in it to clean the carpets), and now it has solved the problem of excess water on the floor.

Oh, and here's a little tidbit about how Dwight reacted to the small flood. He ran down the stairs to the Bar area, and he shouts, "I'm tearing down the Wall and the Ceiling!" I said, "Dwight, chill Baby..." No, you know I didn't say that! ha,.ha! It was a little angrier, but I did calm him down eventually, and asked him to remove the little Bar Fridge, but he shrugged his shoulders and said he thought that was too much work.... that's what it is to live with a Contractor -- they love the giant jobs with 'tearing things down to build them back up' more than the more mundane jobs that I end up doing! It's all fine, now, though!

Now I really have to go! Have a great Weekend and Fabulous Week!

See ya, Baby! Love & Luck, Ailsa

<Free Shipping on all NBC Store orders $50 or more!><Buy Two Wearable Items, Ship One Free!>

< > <Click Here to Claim Your Free American Flag! >(www.Americanflags.com has and enormous selection of Flags, so don't get caught off-guard like Tana from The Apprentice! Pop in and see what they have and get your Free American Flag!)< >

< >

Tell a Friend about My Site - <PSP (Personal Sony Playstation)><Win Great Prizes at PermissionResearch!>

Check Your 2005 Astrological Forecast! * Freebies! * Fitness with Ailsa * Ailsa's Weight Loss Program* Cool Stuff * Travel * Home Search -- MLS * Site Menu

Friday, May 27th, 2005. Hello, Gorgeous! I know it, and you know it, too, right?! All week I've been working on my Scottish Diet that I added to the Site. I love the name! Suits me, given my love for Scotland, and Oatmeal! Pop in to have a wee look if you want to look even more fabulous for the Summer (and then the rest of your life!). Hey, speaking of great Scottish things, do you remember Craig Ferguson from the Drew Carey Show? He played Drew's Boss, Nigel Wick. Well, I saw him on The View last week, and it turns out he's the New Host of The Late, Late, Show, which (thanks to the miracle of Satellite!) comes on at 10:35 pm out here. We started watching it last week and haven't missed a night, since. Craig is hilarious (and Scottish!), so that's two great things in his favor! ha,ha,ha! Pop in to see him to see how funny he is!

Plus, he has the 'other half' of my Name -- Ailsa Craig. It's a lovely Island off the Coast of Scotland. I've got the 'Ailsa' bit, and he's got the 'Craig' bit, so you can see why there's so much extra incentive for me to watch! ha,ha! Anyway, it's The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, so keep an eye out for it (please, not literally ...then you'd have to sleep with one eye open, and every 'Wood Eye' joke would offend you... however, you might find a unique opportunity aboard a Pirate Ship, but the odds on that are fairly slim, so just read the TV Guide and leave it at that!).

So here's something we've been dealing with 'on the Sidelines' for a while, now. You know how I strongly advocate Buying Rental Properties to ensure a good solid income for your Retirement Years? Well, someone very close to us is having the worst time with his Renter, which brings me to the 'Topic of the Day' -- How to Protect Yourself as the Property Owner. Renter's Rights are very important, but they shouldn't supercede the Rights of the Owner if there is a serious problem with the Renter. If you Own the Rental Property, you should be able to give Written Notice that you plan to sell your own property in a given time frame, say, 3 months. The Renter should not be able to prevent the Sale, or refuse to move out.

I don't get what ever happened to old-fashioned decency, where you would honor your word to be a good citizen, and just move on when something clearly doesn't belong to you. It seems insane to me, that the Renter can determine when and if they are going to move. Meanwhile, the Owner has to go through the Lawyers to try to Evict said nasty renter... So Dwight and I were talking about this (again, since it is a recurrent topic of conversation in our Sunroom, these days...), and we don't want this to happen to us, one day. So here's what I think might have helped in this difficult situation, and we will definitely do when with any new Renter.

You could write up and Agreement (Written Up formally by your Real Estate Lawyer) that clearly states that the Renter will Agree to move out within the set amount of time provided by Written Notice, and they would allow any Realtor to enter the premises (again, with reasonable Notice) so the Owner could Sell the Property, if they chose to do so. A Rent to Own or Lease to Own sort of deal, since the Renter would have First Option to Purchase the Property, at Market Value. The most critical thing is to get everything in writing -- a verbal agreement is useless, so even if you think you have a great relationship with the Owner or Renter, it's vital that you put your Agreement in Writing and have it Signed and Witnessed. Hopefully, that'll help to prevent problems in the future.

All that said, I still believe that you can protect yourself as an Owner if you take the right steps, and you should be able to make some serious coin on any Rental Property. I think it's best to buy an Apartment in a Condo Highrise Building, since your Renter would be responsible for the Condo Fees, and you won't have the hassle of 'fixing the place up' (maintenance and repair is covered by the Condo Fees), which can really cut into your Profits. And, of course, the newer the better, so your Rental Property will stay nice for many years to come. If you can find something you would like to live in yourself at some later date, then you could move into the Condo for a year or two (making it your Primary Residence), then you'll save even more money by avoiding the Tax Penalties from any future Sale. (You can keep up to $250,000. for a Single Person and $500,000. for a Couple on a Real Estate Deal in America -- check with your Accountant or Real Estate Lawyer for the amount of Tax-Free money you can make on a Real Estate Sale if you live outside the U.S.)

Well, it's the Memorial Day Weekend in the States, so if you are lucky enough to live in America, Happy Memorial Day! Hope you have something fun to do! Check out these recipes if you are getting together with Friends and Family for a great BBQ this weekend. Fruit Puffs, Cinnamon Buns, Cheesecake , Salsa Chicken , Macaroni Salad , Easy Schmeasy Pie Crust , Creamy Peach Pie , Great BBQ Marinade , Rosemary Steak, Onion Barley (an Aphrodisiac!) , Barbequed Meatballs , Barbequed Veggies, Stuffed Peppers , Blueberry Tart <Americas Best Kitchens>

Happy Memorial Day! Love & Luck! Ailsa

< ><Click Here to Claim Your Free American Flag! >www.Americanflags.com has and enormous selection of Flags from All Over the World.. Pop in and get your Free American Flag for Memorial Day! <Support the troops! Fly an american flag everyday. Want one free? >

< ><Proud of your state? Click here for the web's largest selection of state flags. >

Tell a Friend about My Site - <PSP (Personal Sony Playstation)><Win Great Prizes at PermissionResearch!>

Check Your Astrological Forecast! * Freebies! * Fitness with Ailsa * Ailsa's Weight Loss Program* Cool Stuff * Travel * Home Search -- MLS * Site Menu

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 I * At Home II * At Home III * At Home IV * Archived At Home With Ailsa Pages!

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

 

< >

<Murals Your Way>< >

< >

To Top