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Friday, February 6th, 2004. Hey, Baby-Cakes! You look stunning, today! (That's far better than, "You look stunned, today...", so if you feel like using my compliments later on when you're in contact with real live people, watch you don't mix them up, then find yourself all alone at the Lunch Table! No, no. We don't want that! ha,ha,ha!) Well, I actually left the house, yesterday -- I went up the DeVry to have lunch with my wonderful friend, Araya. We used to work together at DeVry -- he still Teaches there, and really enjoys it. It's funny when you return to an old workplace, because the second you walk through the doors, you feel like you should just head to your old desk and resume working! It was great to see some familiar faces, again, though, and have a few 'adult conversations' -- not that I don't loooove discussing Pokemon and all about the intricacies of building castles out of Lego with Aidan...! Makes me anxious to get back into the regular working world again. Soon enough, I suppose, soon enough.

My Site is doing better, financially, so I really thank each and every one of you who have clicked on my Sponsors -- that's how I 'stay alive', so-to-speak -- that and the Buffwear Sales. Think about me whenever you see a School, Team or Group who might need to raise some money -- either for Charity or for good old-fashioned Profit! Anyway, maybe DeVry will start the ball rolling with the College Crowd by putting DeVry on a Buff! You never know... it's always good to put ideas out there when you're in Business, since the idea in your mind won't grow if it never sees the light of day, right?

Speaking of Being in Business, did you see The Apprentice last night? That's such a great Show! I love the difference in the Male/Female Dynamics... and it's interesting to watch them when they are trying to sell something -- I wonder what thought process went through some of their heads to have a look of misery on their faces. Or when they are arguing close to where they're trying to sell something... what is that all about? It's Rocket Science, I tells ya! I cannot stand aggression -- maybe some folks love it, but it turns me off faster than anything else.

I experienced that first-hand, last Spring when I went in to a WalMart to buy a new Patio Set (I still bought it, but at my local WalMart, instead, where there's never anyone fighting...), and there was a Manager fighting with her Male Employee. Very ugly scene, and I was shocked, especially at WalMart where they're known for their good attitude. Well, not at that particular store. And the same thing happened at Home Depot, where the Service was soooo bad, I have never been back in, and it used to be my favorite store. Ah, well... I feel very strongly about good service, which generally means service without any fighting! That's not too much ask, is it?? ha,ha,ha!

Okay, that's enough fun for me for one day -- now I have to go start cleaning! That leads me into the ...

Tip of the Day: When you are about to put your House on the Market, clean it with a certain degree of ruthlessness. Bring some giant Garbage Bags or Boxes, and take everything you never, ever wear, read, eat, play with (you decide what all that means! ha,ha,.ha!), pack it up and give it away or throw it out. Give away whatever is even remotely useful to someone else, then toss the rest. First thing, this morning, I tackled the Pantry. It's the big 9' X 5' Walk-In Pantry, so there was a surprising amount of stuff in there that I've accumulated in a relatively short amount of time. I dumped all the old Hallowe'en Candy -- from two years ago... and the old Christmas Candies.

Of course, the main reason I cleared out the Pantry was because I was shopping at Costco, yesterday, and I wanted to make lots of space for all the new treats! But still, it looks waaay better, now. I filled a whole garbage bag full of old sweeties and half-eaten bags of chips and crackers. So now I need to get to work in my Master Bedroom Closet -- you know, it's about the smae size as my Pantry, now that I think of it... but Dwight has all sorts of old Hunting and Boating Magazines stacked in MY bit, and I want the space for new outfits I just got, so they can be packed up and stored in the garage... and that Dwightie better be a whole lot nicer or I'll have to pack him up and send him out to the Garage, too! ha,ha,ha! All in an effort to clean up, of course!

Here are some 'Before and After' of the Sunroom Doors. The First shot is before we had the Doors Painted, then the next two are from the inside of the Master Bedroom into the Sunroom, then from inside the Sunroom. Pretty, huh? We're really pleased with how all the Doors turned out -- thanks Mark and Brandon (The Painters!)!

Well, here we are, almost at Valentine's Day, again, so here's a wee link if you are out there lookin' for a little something special! Good Luck!

Thursday, February 5th, 2004. Hi, Honey! You're Home, with me! Ain't that lucky? ha,ha,ha! I got up this morning to the most beautiful Full Moon -- hmmmm, that sounds a little awkward -- outside in the sky, above the mountains ... still no good? har, har!Well, I'll show you the pictures I took, then you'll see how lovely the view is from here. And for some reason, whenever there's a Full Moon in the morning, the sunrise to the East is even more spectacular, so I was going from one side of the house to the other to snap some great shots. I'll transfer them from my camera into the computer and post them for you, today.

Did you see American Idol last night? They booted off one of the fellows I thought was great -- George Huff, I think his name was... maybe they'll bring him back later like they did before. I thought he had a fabulous voice, and so what if he looked a little bit older? 'Older folks' (is that me?? ha,ha,ha!) have money, too, and we buy records -- I mean, CDs! The other fellow I liked who did get through is Erskine -- I didn't catch his last name. The girls I haven't decided on, yet.

And then on The Bachelorette, I think they might have been recruiting for 'Meredith Men' at a Pharmaceutical Convention -- is it just me or have you noticed a very high percentage of Pharmaceutical Salesmen? Hey, that's not a euphemism for 'Drug Dealer', is it? ha,ha,ha,ha! I loved when Mr. Confrontational (Ryan who was booted right off 'the island'!), who was 'very intuitive', did not get Meredith's body language or Kelly Jo's cross-armed stance when he went after them ... it's a good little Show to demonstrate to losers what happens when you're confrontational with the opposite sex, or just in general. Yes, everyone loves confrontation, especially girls! And the 'In-your-face, I can't seem to shut up' variety is particularly appealing! ha,ha,ha! So I like Chad, Matthew and Ian, although he looks like a commitment phobe from way back, but he is really cute! And wealthy -- you know I like that in a man! ha,ha,ha! Have you clicked on my 'Marry Rich' page, yet? It's just a little tongue-in-cheek look at Dating, if you'd like to read it!

Tip of the Day: You know how we've been chatting about money? Well, there's a lot of discussion over how much you should have in the Bank before attempting to purchase your own place. I think a lot of the decision should be dependent on they type of job you have, and the level of stability it provides. If you have a volatile boss and no contract, I would say that it would be wise to save up for about 6 full months worth of Savings -- that includes enough to pay the monthly mortgage, groceries, gas, and all your utility bills.

Now, if you have a great Contract and amazing Job Stability, you can probably get (or already have..) a good Line of Credit from the Bank, so you can use that if need be, although this is never a good use of money if you can avoid it, since you have to pay it back soooo quickly. Still you should have at least 4 to 6 months of Monthly expenses put aside, just-in case.

There is a situation when I think you can get around this great big Bank Account before you purchase a Home if that sounds like it's going to take you waaaay too long to save up... if you can make an absolute commitment to yourself that you will take any job rather than no job if something should happen, God Forbid, that causes a sharp downward fluctuation in you regular income (you lose your job and now you're broke...). I'm surprised at the number of Professionals (it generally happens in this group, because they tend to have more preconceived ideas of what type of job truly suits them, but if you're down and out, and the mortgage needs to be paid, 'A job that pays money' will be your best bet! ha,ha,ha!) who would choose to lose a house over taking a job they might consider to be 'beneath them'. Good to get rid of that crazy attitude and save your Financial Beeeehind!

Here's the Morning Moon over my favorite 'clump of trees'! And then on the Opposite Side of the House, the Mauve Sunrise -- what a feast for the eyes, this morning!

Aidan (my little 4 year old son!) is building a very fancy castle beside me, here, as I write, and I just remembered what he said to me last night that I thought you'd get a kick out of... I asked him if he'd like Chicken Fingers for dinner, so he says to me, "Ah, no, Mummy. I don't eat Chicken Hands...', and he stormed off! Hilarious! Kids -- they're soooo entertaining! ha,ha,ha,ha!

Doesn't this remind you of the little cards you used to hand out to your friends in Grade Four? ha,ha,ha! Remember all the fancy Doilies that were always around on Valentine's Day? I used to looove those!

Wednesday, February 4th, 2004. Hey, Baby! What up? Feb. 4th, already -- only 10 more days until Valentine's Day, so I've been working on my Valentine's Day Goodies Page all morning. It's fun finding stuff that I think my Readers will like -- of course, I mostly go with whatever I happen to like, but figure you're probably quite a bit like me... anyway, if you're making an online Valentine's Day Purchase, please, oh, please pop into my site and go through me -- why not? I would love that -- then it's like a little gift for ME, too! And tell all your wealthy friends, too -- plus, make them tell us all how they got so wealthy -- we all want to know! ha,ha,ha!

I need to get some new Tubes of White Dap so I can go around the house and fill in any wee nail holes on the Baseboard. You can buy Dap at any Home Improvement Store -- it's amazing stuff. Oh, and if you need some 'filler' around an older Bath-tum or Shower Surround, pick up a tube of Silicone. It's easy to use (just pipe it out like you were icing a cake, if you already are familiar with that process!), and it's a good 'Quick Fix'. The only thing is that the house is sooo big that there are a zillion little holes to fill and make the baseboard look perfect, so I'm thinking of getting another quote from our new 'Painter Guys' -- that would free me up to do even more work on my Valentine's Page! Now that would be fun!

I happen to be watching Dr. Phil while I'm writing this, today, since I've had soooo much Laundry and other exciting Housework to do, today... oh, my life is endless fun, that's for sure! ha,ha,ha! Anyway, they're talking about Financial Security and the lack thereof... I really wish they would take some serious steps to add Curriculum in every High School and College to teach young people how to manage their money. It's crazy not to teach them when they're young, so they'll be all set with the knowledge and abilities to handle their money as soon as they start earning it. It looks like Governor Arnold in California is taking some big steps in revitalizing the School System, there, so maybe he'll be in the forefront of Financial Education... Just think how it changes a Society when people know how to make their own money, how to use it wisely so they're not broke al the time, which in turn makes them happier, which lessens crime, abuse, dissolution of marriage, better parenting...the list goes on and on. Seems like a good investment to me!

I used to really struggle with money issues -- no one had ever taught me anything about money -- the only big message was that I should never set my sights too high. Now that's a lovely message... really encouraging! Ah, well. A lot of people in my generation got that message... we're changing that, now, with better parenting skills, and greater self-knowledge, but there's still a ton of mixed messages we get from all sorts of authority figures.

One of the most annoyink phrases is that 'Money doesn't matter'...puh-leeease... that's the craziest thing I've ever heard! It matters plenty, and it's critical that your children know that right off the bat. No matter how much you earn, your kids should know that everything has a value, and they should value everything. That's a nice little catch-phrase, ain't it? ha,ha,ha! Anyway, so many little folks (and some big ones, too! Some in their late forties!!) don't have a solid understanding that you have to know how much something is, how you would save to get it, and why you shouldn't get it all if the equation just won't work out. There are very few things that you absolutely have to have, so let your kids know the difference between necessities and extras.

You know where a tremendous amount of money goes where it should be carefully weighed out and isn't, all in the name of a 'Dream'? No, not houses -- Weddings. Yep. Can you believe the cost of a Wedding, these days? Man. That's just one of the reasons we Eloped...I had a big fancy Wedding the first time around (I'm on Marriage # 2, right now! Look out Lucky Number Three! ha,ha,ha,ha!), which I did not want. That stuff gets waaaay out of control, and the levels of expectation are through-the- roof...then the expense is crazy. A couple should look long and hard at who the Wedding is really for, then see how they can make it a great Event without starting off their life as a couple in financial ruin.

The important thing about Money Management is to know what you can really afford and when. If you desperately want something, just wait until you have the money to pay for it -- that's not so bad... and if it's a House or Apartment, choose something that is completely in your Price Range, that'll still give you plenty of money on the side to live the rest of your life with...I think one of the main reasons people get into Financial Trouble is concern over how they look to others -- in terms of what they wear, where they live, where they vacation, what school their kid goes to... and gift giving -- a tremendous amount of money is spent on other people so they'll continue to think highly of you. If you can afford lots of lavish gifts, great, but if it's just a wee token to show how much you care, all the better. You're own Financial Health is far more important than what anyone else might think of you. Be your own judge on that one! (But do not feel compelled to change your name to 'Judy'! Although I do think it might be fun to dress up in a Robe every now and then! ha,ha,ha!)

Tip of the Day: You know what is really handy in the Kitchen (other than your spouse, from time to time! yuff, yuff!)? A good pair of Scissors. I always keep a couple of pairs of Scissors for cutting packages open, but also for cutting up salad and cutting directly into a big pot of soup, after the veggies are cooked and I want the String Beans to be a bit smaller... Just open the scissors and stick them in the Dishwasher after each use, just like you'd deal with regular cutlery. Works for me!

Here are some more current pictures of the Bar on the Lower Level. I think it's 9 1/2' Long and about 3' Wide. Dwight got the Sink in and the water running, so that's good. Now he has a couple of Tiles to put in, the Backsplash, then some Maple Trim around the Countertop and we're done. That's my Office in the Background -- I'm about 30' from the Bar Area, maybe a little further...

And that's the Pool Table in the Third Picture -- the Steam Room is through the first angled door you can see past the Pool Table. The Cabinets match all the rest of the Maple Cabinetry in the house, so it's a nice continuous look.

Thanks for swingin' in for a wee visit! Say, how 'bout you bring a friend along some time? The new Rules and Regulations (I haven't actually read them -- who has that kind of time?! ha,ha!) have done a real number on my site traffic (now it's harder to find me...), so if you know someone you think would enjoy my Site, send them along, please! I appreciate every little bit of help from my wonderful (and very, very good looking!) Readers! ha,ha!

Of course, here's a link for you to buy a little something! Ah, well, you can start saving yo' money on February 15th! ha,ha,ha!

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2004. Hello, Darling! Honey-Pie! Little 'Fun Slice of Life'! ha,ha,ha! Ah, I love a complimentary phrase, don't you? It's be hilarious to greet your co-workers -- or better yet, your Boss! -- like that, wouldn't it? They'd give you a Special Pass to go straight in for the Sexual Harrassment Seminars, which are very, very useful in making grown adults giggle, then yawn, then get annoyed. Really, what it all boils down to is that if your co-worker really does like you (as a friend...), then it's okay to make little jokes and kind-hearted comments, but if you're the creepy one, best just to shut up... of course, it's a little tricky to tell that to the creepy one, because they always perceive themselves as 'suave'!

The Painters (Mark and Brandon!) are all done, and they did a fabulous job! I'll go take some pictures, this afternoon, of the Sunroom Doors and the Newly White Office, Pantry and Laundry Room Doors, too, and I'll post them tomorrow. What a difference it made Painting them White. Those particular Doors are all French Glass Doors, and I had wanted to leave them the Natural Wood, but Dwight wanted them White, and I conceded to that. Whatever... the White is beautiful, so it was really a win-win situation. The cool thing is that now that the French Glass Doors are White, the Bevelled Edges on the Doors are all reflecting green, which is very pretty, especially in the Sunroom where there's a lot of other Green Stuff.

Did you see Average Joe Hawaii, last night? What I like about that Show is how lots of men and women can see what women really go for. The funny thing is I can't remember any of the Buffed out guys's's' (Think Homer Simpson! ha,ha!) names... oh, you know what I just realized? I was going to say I couldn't tell them apart because they all look pretty much the same, but then it occured to me that I haven't actually looked at their faces -- maybe in passing, but it's hard to stop looking at their muscles! ha,ha,ha,ha! So there, I've been caught out! And we haven't had much of a chance to see their personalities, yet, but as the Show goes on, you can see that personality often comes before looks. But then there's that little thing called 'biology' that kicks in, and women are ruled by it, for the most part. It often comes back to the old 'who would be the best one to procreate with?" You have to think about that! You don't really want to make a big pile of little dorkie children -- that's what Darwin said (I'm not sure that's a direct quote, but it was somethin' like that! ha,ha,ha,ha!)!

Tip of the Day: This Tip comes from Mark the Painter (pretty sure he didn't have his name legally changed to that -- I'm making an easy reference for you -- ain't that nice of me to save you from using any extra brain cells? I don't want you to tire yourself out, in case you're still at work! ha,ha,ha!). If you have any larger holes in your walls, from construction or moving furniture (if it's from somebody's fist going through the wall, get rid of them first, then fix the hole when they're long gone...!), wad up some newspaper and place it in the Hole. Of course, no need to overload it, or that would just be even worse...(!), then you put some putty over that and smooth it out with a trowel. Let it dry and sand it off very lightly using either Sand Paper or a Scotch Brite Scrubbie Sponge (get it wet, wring it out...). Give the area a wee coat of paint to match the color already on the rest of the wall.

Now, if you don't know exactly what Shade the Paint is, you can take a wee chip off the wall (remove an Electrical Cover and sneak a piece of paint from there...), and take it to any Paint Store. They can run it through their computer and give you an exact match. Cool, eh?

Have you ever seen a 'Sun Dog'? Sounds like a muscle-bound guy on a beach, don't it?? No, no... It's like a little Rainbow, only they happen quite often around here, and I don't remember seeing this in other places I've lived, so I thought I'd show you what they look like.

The first picture is out of Aidan's Bedroom -- the two Childrens' Bedrooms upstairs both have Bowed Windows, which I think is a lovely feature. All of the pictures are looking toward the East, and there are Farmer's Fields across the River from our house, so that's what you see in the Background. The second shot is out the Front Entry Doorway -- lots of Windows there, too! The third shot is out my Laundry Room Window -- I have a fabulous view to look at while I'm doing the Laundry! That means I'm far more likely to do the Laundry if I like the Room! ha,ha!

Monday, February 2nd. What up, Daaaawg? I'm feelin' ya, Baby! Holla!! Did you see the Super Bowl? And a part of Janet Jackson you thought you'd for sure have to pay to see?? ha,ha,ha It was jus' a leettle accident, though, certainly not anything carefully planned and choreographed by two of the world's best dancers... ha,ha,ha,ha! Now that's comedy! Did you laugh yourself silly when you heard that explanation? And what a great Game -- you know I'm thinking if they had a little 'extra' entertainment like that at every game, I wonder how the Ratings would go? Somebody oughtta check that out!

Well, it's Groundhog Day, and the wee beastie says we'll have another 6 Weeks of Winter ... yes, and in Calgary, I think that means another 12! Ah, well. Thanks Goodness we have a nice big house to curry up in! And it's very bright and sunny here, so even though it's often bitterly cold outside, if you can just stay in and look at it, it's very pretty!

Hey, did you catch the First Episode of Survivor, right after the Super Bowl, yesterday? Man, we love that Show! Just looking at Beaches makes the Winter go by a whole lot faster, plus we all love all the human drama! Cara really likes Alicia, I like Rupert and Evan (and Roger, but I'm not so sure how long he'll last in this particular Game...), and Dwight was chatting too much during the Show, so I don't remember who he likes... he is always very interested in tha pretty girls, though! ha,ha! Everybody watches for their very own reason .. ! You know what bugs me? When Actors diss any Reality Show for not being valuable or good Entertainment. What a pile of crap -- I'm a Writer, and there's a whole thing that Writers lose out on some work (as do the Formal Actors...) because of these Reality Shows, but look at how many other people are employed by them... I think there's room for everybody, and let the Viewers decide what they like. Clearly, they've made their decision -- Reality TV Stays! Yippee!

The Painters are here, again, today -- even jobs that might seem 'little' are often very time-consuming. It's always important not to attach your own estimate of how long any particular job will take, especially if it's not your area of expertise... even when it is your own area, any job can take a lot longer than you initially think just because of all the things that can go wrong, or aspects of the job you might have overlooked.

Tip of the Day: No matter what Home Improvement Project or Home Building Deal you're planning out, over-estimate the time by at least a month to three months, depending on the Project. It's surprising how much time can just fly by when you're busy waiting for something to be done. You'll be waaaay less stressed if you allow for the time in advance, then you won't be panicked if it doesn't all happen on any particular day. Remember -- Less Stress means More Happiness, and you definitely want that, right?? ha,ha!

I've got Pictures of a Snowy Day, since it's Groundhog Day and we're all checking to see how much more snow we're gonna get -- except for all the lucky ones when live in the Land of Perpetual Sun and Sand!

The first picture is out the Dining Room Window to the North of the Property -- that's the top of the Deck Railing on the Back Deck. See how it has a Trellis Center? That's very useful if you want a Deck with more privacy, but still want to look out. The middle shot is out the Dining Room Windows, too, but with a view to the West. I like that 'Clump of Trees'... Then the Third picture is out my Sunroom Windows to the Southwest (just like the Airlines, only not nearly so much fun!! ha,ha!).

It's the Weekend Update! The 31st & the 1st. Hi, Honey! You're Home! And you look fabulous! Have you been working out? Standing up, then sitting back down, again, so as not to wear yourself out? Me,.too, so I hope that's an effective exercise! ha,ha,ha! Our Painters worked really hard all day, so the vast amount of the work is done. It's funny having a lot of work done when you're in the house -- it's very different from when you're in the middle of the 'regular building stage' when nobody is in the house, yet. People who are involved in a lot of Home Renovations know what it's like. You just need to be aware of all the things you regularly do, then don't do them (like, it's huuuugely inappropriate to nap in the same room where the men -- or women! -- are working...ha,ha!)!

I just can't believe it's the End of the Month, already! Man, there's Saturday to prepare for the Super Bowl, then Sunday IS the Super Bowl...it's a whole weekend event! And then there's Valentine's Day before you know it! So this is the ideal weekend to conveniently 'forget' about any diet of any sort so you can indulge in all the fun food items found at any great Football Party! And perhaps have a Beer or Two!! Have a Cheers for me, too! ha,ha!

Tip of the Day: I got this info from Mark, our Painter who was at the house, yesterday. He was telling me that your walls have to be perfect for Darker Colors of Paint, and Lighter Shades are great for 'slightly imperfect' walls. So the Tip is "If you have imperfections on your walls, choose a Light Color for your Walls". I would think this would be particularly useful in renos when you're stripping wallpaper. That's soooo hard to do, though, that I would be way more inclined to cover over the old wallpaper with a thick neutral shade of wallpaper... Thanks, Mark, for the great Tip!

It's our sweet little Tia! That's her new sweater she got for Christmas (that and two new 'babies', and yes, they both squeak!).

And the third picture is Tia running like mad to get back into the house in this freezing cold weather -- funny!

Friday, January 30th, 2004. Hey, HEY, Hey! Finally, the Weekend is almost here! It's been a crazy cold week here -- it's very restrictive to your life when it's sooooo ludicrously cold... I had to go for one teensie weensie walk, and my face was soooo cold that it was literally painful. Won't do that, again. Your skin can actually freeze in a matter of seconds -- ugh. That ain't right! There's reason to move South, right there! ha,ha,ha!

Mark is painting in my Office, right now -- so it's very, very paintie. I think I'll cut this short and move to a room that's already done! I just took a picture of Mark, in case you want to hire him for your Painting Work He's working with Brandon, and Aidan is running around chatting with them all day! They're working on the Trim Work and the Doors. Turns out there are 19 Interior Doors and 6 Exterior Doors. That saves me a whole lot of work, and they make it look easy! ha,ha!

Hey, did you see The Apprentice, last night? We love that show! I am particularly fond of the way Donald Trump is able to market his own products on the Show -- The Trump Game Board (must see where we can get that!), the Trump Golf Course, the Trump Airlines... funny! It's the Ideal Marketing Set-Up! I hope they have a project where they have to make a Website Profitable -- I desperately need some help with that, and I'm using the Show as a very entertaining learning device! So far I've learned the "Sex Sells", so I'll have to see what I can do with that! ha,ha,ha!

Tip of the Day: When you're Selling Your Home, set Three Prices. The Listing Price, The Price You Want to Get out of your Property, and the Amount you absolutely have to get out of the Property to move on. Know these numbers in your head before you start to do anything. The very last number is the one you want to use when you're looking a a New Property -- it's a 'just in case' amount. Of course, the 'just in case' number becomes irrelevant if you're not in a hurry, so the longer you can take, the better off you'll be. Panic is not a pretty thing!

If you use a Realtor, let them know your Second Number, and let them know you're serious. You know that little Show, Buy ME!, I was telling you about, yesterday? Well, the Realtor on that Show took their house from $185,000. down to $150,000., then made the Buyer feel lucky to sell at that. That's not nice, and that was after he sold them a house that was too expensive for them, so they would have to cover the spread, and that can ruin a family. Not good. But you are ultimately in charge of everything that happens to you, so watch out for shady behaviour, and guard against it. You have to practice saying "No, Thanks. That won't work for me". Then turn around and walk away. Get yourself a new Agent.

Here's Mark painting in my Office! Turned out, I couldn't stop typing, so I just stayed in here and had a great chat with Mark while he was working! I'll link them on my Business Page so you can contact Mark and Brandon. (For Work, not dates! ha,ha,ha!)

I got a letter to Ask Ailsa, yesterday, involving The Lord of the Rings and Jewellery, so that lead me to eBay.ca, the Canadian version of eBay, and I couldn't believe the deals on eBay! Man! ... and I was just thinking I shouldn't buy any more jewellery for a while... of course, now that I've seen it, I've changed my mind on that one! ha,ha,ha!

Thursday, January 29th, 2004. Hello, Darling! Honey-Pie! Sweet Thaaang! How you doin', today? I've been reading more of my new Deepak Chopra book, The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire (Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence), and the whole thing is really about harnessing your thoughts and making that work for you. It might sound obvious, but it's really tricky to really figure out what it is you truly want and why you want it. Try it for a while and see if you can narrow your desires right down... and no, not just for some Movie Star Date, although if that really is your main desire, hey, good luck with that! Since you're on MY SITE, my guess is there's a big Dream House in your Mind, somewhere, just waiting to be built, so focus in on that, what you want it to look like, where you want it to be, and why you want a house like that. Those are more difficult questions than they first appear.

My most difficult question is 'Why do I want to make so much money?'. That seems like a silly question, at first glance, but I need to figure out if the root of my desire for cold hard cash (that's what my 4-year old Aidan calls it! ha,ha!) is just so I can have any Freedom I like, and it'll be my choice what I do. I've had my ability to choose my own life curtailed for so long that Freedom is still at the very top of my List, but I need to be sure that when I do get some Free Choice, I make good, positive changes, and not just change for the sake of change.

There's a lot of work going on around here, today, and there will be over the next few weeks, getting the house all finished up -- just the last wee touches. The Glass Door for the Steam Room will be in next week, and it's my job to convince Dwight to have the Door Hang from the Right, and not the Left. Doug, our Glass Guy, was telling me that you typically hang a Bathroom Shower Door so that the Shower Door opens toward the Towel Rack. The idea is to get out the Shower and reach for the Towels -- not have to get all the way out the Shower to walk all the way around the door to get the towels... So I talked to Dwight about it last night, and I'll have to do the same every night until he agrees. Now, why won't that boy just agree on the first day and get it over with?? Men! You have to talk to them! (Nicely, or it won't work at all! ha,ha,ha!)

Hey, did you happen to see that new Show, Buy Me!, last night? It's supposed to showcase how stooopid the home owner is, and how great the Realtor is, but it totally reverses it for us, because the whole thing makes us livid! The worst things that happened were that the Realtor took the Home Owners over to see new houses waaaay outside of their Price Range. Of course, the couple 'fell in love' with the property, then they were 'desperate to sell'. They signed an agreement to sell their own home within Two Weeks. That's the craziest thing. And then the Home Owner was annoyed that it would 'take that long'... what is that all about?? Think how quickly a couple of weeks go by. She thought the House should sell in Three or Four Days...silly.

Really, it's all about Expectations. Choosing a House out of their League. Thinking their house should and would sell in 3 days... that nobody would notice all the repairs that needed to be done on the Older Property. When people are new to the Real Estate Game, they should not be lied to -- I hate that. There's nothing wrong or bad for business by being honest and doing what's right for the Clients. There are very few businesses that would survive such unsrupulous behaviour as we saw with the Realtor on that Show. Sad. I hope everybody gets to see it so they can see what to watch out for -- on both sides, because one can't exist without the other.

Tip of the Day: When you are ready to Buy Your Own Home, get Prequalified with any Bank (hopefully On-line and through me site -- ha,ha!) FIRST, so you can tell your Realtor exactly how much you are ready to spend on a Home. When they start taking you to places that are not within your comfort range, stop the trip and say again, "This is how much we are willing to spend, please take us to homes in our Price Range." If you get an attitude, get another Realtor. There are lots of great ones, so don't get bogged down with a crappy one. Remember, they're there to help you wade through the Home Buying (or Home Selling) Experience, not to make your life a living hell, so if you feel out-of-control, let the whole thing go and wait a bit.

You know how I was telling you about the Radiant Heating System, yesterday? Well, here's the Lower Level with the Radiant Heat Tubes before the Cement was poured over the Floor. We have 9' Ceilings, Downstairs, which I highly recommend for any Lower Level. And if we ever Build a Two-Storey, we'll go with 9' Ceilings on the Lower Walk-Out Level, then 10' Ceilings on the Main Floor, then Vaulted on the Top Floor. Looks nice that way!

Oh, hey. Since the Super Bowl is coming up this Sunday, you can Click on my Gambling Page to place a Bet, if you're so inclined! Then you can be a big winner, too! ha,ha,ha! And now for that Dream Home...!

Wednesday, January 28th. Hey, Baby-Cakes! Oi, I'm late, today! We've had the Glass Guy and the Painters here, this morning, so it took me forever to get to the Computer! First things, first, right?? Plus, I was busy reading and replying to my Fan Mail, which is a whole lot of fun! I love your letters -- write me anytime you like! Just click on the Fan Mail highlighted area and you can have a wee look at some of the letters I get. Lately, I've had a series of 'Dating Letters' -- but they're specifically for me, and we all know how mad Dwight gets at the mere mention of me going out on a date! ha,ha,ha! Those Husbands can be like that, you know! ha,ha,ha! I can't post those letters, even though I'm sure you would enjoy reading them, too, but the last one started out nicely, then slowly went down a path that was just a little this side of crazy! I had to delete that one!

Cara is home, today -- she's in between Semesters, so she has the rest of the week off. And that's how I know that Ryan Seacrest, of American Idol Fame, has a new Talk-Show, On-Air with Ryan Seacrest. He is hilarious, so if you happen to be home in the afternoon, check it out. And of course, American Idol is always entertaining. We loved Rueben Studdard, and it was great to see Clay Aiken on Ed last Friday. Remember I was telling you that the Producer and 'Big Star' of Ed, Tom Cavanagh, went to Queen's University (I have Two Degrees from Queen's University ...), and I think we were both there at the same time. Must find that out! We're just happy whenever anyone does well -- that's a good way to be, right??

Tip of the Day: You know how the Radiant Heat System had a little Leak the other day? Well, Dwight has a Tip for you if you happen to have Radiant Heat in your Floors, or are planning to get it. Always have one spare Zone Valve in the house so the Radiant Heat System can be repaired quickly and easily. Each Zone Valve costs about $150.00 -- they're little, but essential to the job. Think of it like a Ring -- it's little but you won't get anywhere without it (maybe that's just me!!ha,ha,ha!), and fairly pricey (also ME!!)!! ha,ha!

I'm thrilled to see my new favorite Group, Outkast ("I Like the Way You Move") is at Number One. The things you can keep up with when you have a Teenager! ha,ha!

Here are a few shots of the House at the Front -- I went out early in the Morning just before Christmas -- the light was amazing, and I couldn't let the opportunity go by to capture these shots! That's Full Moon in the Background of the First Picture. After I got back in the house, the Moon was setting over the Mountains, and that was stunningly beautiful. There's always something nice to look at out here!

Oh, yeah. See the Row of Trees around the Circular Driveway? That looks very cool. In the Spring we'll get a bunch of Trees to go over by the Hot Tub Sunroom Deck. I just have to convince Dwight of that -- wish me luck!

And this one is good for everybody -- you really ought to be Single, though, or somebody's gonna be mad! ha,ha,ha!

Tuesday, January 27th, 2004. Yo, yo, yo, what up, Daaaawg?? ha,ha! So funny how words change over time, ain't it? Years ago I think I was such a stickler for correct English (ironically, when I was an English Teacher at the High School Level...), that it would not even have been conceivable for me to even think "Ain't", let alone say and write it! Ah, the times they is a-changin'!! har, har! Remember that incident in the Florida Schools when the English Teacher was wearing a T-Shirt that said "I Is a English Teacher", and she lost her job over it? Now, I hope everyone has their sense of humor firmly in place these days so that kind of craziness never happens again!

You know what I wish they would teach in School? The Art of Conversation. It's like a Lost Art, these days! Have you noticed that a lot of folk are great at talking about themselves, or even better, the weather, and the conversation never takes on a 'Two Person-Thing' -- except in the roles of Talker and Listener. "I'll talk endlessly about myself and perhaps a series of people I know and you don't know, and You Listen." Yes, that's one way of having a conversation. The other way is to each share information, and throw in a few jokes along the way, just for fun, and to ensure the other person doesn't nod right off in the middle of your diatribe about dirt and how incredibly and surprisingly dirty it can be... I know, you might perk up at the word 'dirty', but once you realize the person is actually droning on about DIRT, you'll have to zone out, again! ha,ha,ha!

You know what would be really funny, now? I can show you al sorts of pictures of Dirt, just for a laugh! Then you can drone on and on about it at the water cooler, then have the same conversation about four more times, then occasionally bring it up in Meetings and such. Everyone will looooove it -- you can sense that by the way they scrunch their nose up when you greet them. And if you feel an uncomfortable silence in the middle of the conversation, you could bring up some people you know (who they don't know...) who also like Dirt, and everything they've ever said about it, preferably verbatim, because that's waaaay more entertaining. I think. Well, try it and let me know how it all works out for you! ha,ha,ha,ha! Okay, I'm just amusing myself, now, but that's okay every now and then, right?? ha,ha,ha!

Okay, I've got to go put the Gin back in the Cupboard...I'm kiddink! It's Wine! No, no, no. The most I've had is a wee bite of Chocolate!

Tip of the Day: Oh, we had a water leak on the Radiant Heat Pipes, yesterday. I did a whole page on How to Deal with Household Emergencies, so that was useful because I had to quickly turn off the Water Valves. Of course, I called Dwight right away, and luckily he happened to be pulling into the Garage, so he fixed it. Now one thing that I didn't know was that after you shut off the Water Valves that appear to be closest to the Leak, you have to look to see every direction any water could travel so you cut off the Flow from all directions. Dwight told me to shut off the Water Tanks, too, and I hadn't thought of that.

Make sure everyone in your house knows where the Main Water Valves are so that if there is ever a problem (especially with this crazy cold snap, these days!), you can prevent any damage to your home from leaking water. That can save you thousands of dollars, and a great big hassle!

Here's some Dirt! That's what One Full Load of Dirt looks like, in case you are ever doing a bunch of Landscaping and need to know that, or you just love looking at dirt!

And here are some pictures of the Water Valves -- You could write MAIN WATER VALVE in Black Permanent Marker right on the Pipe, if that would make it easier to recognize in a hurry, if you're mechanically challenged, like me! ha,ha! That's the Radiant Floor Heating System in the last picture, so you can see why that was a little tricky for me to figure out! It's a very cool System, though, and I can't imagine having a Tiled Floor without Radiant Heat in a Cold Climate -- it's too cold on your feet... All the tiled areas and the Whole Lower Floor of our House have the Radiant Heat in the Floors. Keeps you nice and cozy!

Thanks for swinging by to see me, today! Y'all Come Back, now, ya Hear? No, I can't say that!

New Lighting can change the whole look of your house, so if you're in the Market, click in and have a wee look!

Monday, January 26th, 2004. Hello, Hello, Hello! It's always so lovely to see you! And you smell good, too -- have you bathed this week? That is a better plan than the 'Once a Month, or so, depending on who's coming over for a visit...' I know, that did seem like a practical and time-saving idea, but in the long run I'm not sure how well that one pans out...! ha,ha,ha! Hey, it's Ellen Degeneres's's' Birthday, today! She's so funny -- and she looks pretty clean, too! har, har! I happen to be watching the Birthday Bash as I'm writing -- I hope I always have a set up this great, what with being able to watch TV while I'm working,'n all!

We finally got the Trim done around the Steam Room Door -- YaaHoo! Man, that took a long time! I got out to Paint the Trim on Saturday, then Dwight and my Dad put it up, yesterday. Dwight is all excited at having another man to work with! I took some pictures of it last night, so I'll put them on the Site today. Now we're anxious to get the Steam Room done. It's a funny thing, since you forget about it sometimes, because I've never had a Steam Room, but now that it's almost done, we really want to get in there and try it out! It has seating for Four, but you'd have to really like the other two (or other one, depending on how your marriage is going! ha,ha,ha!) for that to be comfortable! It's not the same as a Hot Tub where you really can't see the other people (just their faces!).

Tip of the Day: If you are thinking about Renovating, consider changing out the Trim Work around the Doorways. And the Baseboard, too, if possible... You don't have to do all of it at the same time -- you can do one Door at a time, or one Room at a time. The Baseboard that is anywhere in the 4" Range looks fabulous, and will really accentuate your Wall Color. Incidentally, this might be a good time to give your Walls a Fresh Coat of Paint!

Just so you know, it takes forever to get the Corner Cuts right with Baseboard, so forget about the Ads on Television that say it'll take oh, about a half an hour...nope. It's always better to know what you're really up against before you get started on a Project. I would think it would be safe to say that each Room would easily take a Day -- at least! That's for the Whole Room and the Doorway. That's just Installation Time, though -- first you have to Remove the Old Trim, Perhaps Freshen Up the Walls, Go Buy the Trim and Special Tools for the Job, Cut it, Paint it, Place and Cut again, then Nail it in place. We use an Air Nailer (shoots nails into the wood -- very cool tool! You can use Finishing Nails (they're Little and Thin) and a Hammer, though, and it'll work just as well (although not as fast...).

Here's the New Trim around the Steam Room Door. Doesn't that look great? We love it!

Thanks for Coming in for a wee Visit, today! Now I have to go out and Brave the Cold! Ugh, it's Minus 25, today -- now that ain't right!! ha,ha! Can't wait to get home to warm up at the Fireplace!

It's The Weekend Update! How you doin', Baa-By?? I hope you got to sleep in, today! Man, I never did get out to paint the Trim, yesterday, so now I have to do that first thing before I get side-tracked by anything else ... I'm fairly easily side-tracked, if you can imagine that! ha,ha,ha! I had a not-so-good phone call from the Glass Place (they still haven't shown up to measure the Steam Room Glass Door...), and the secretary wants me to measure the Doorway myself. Hmmmmm. That's not good. For one thing, the Steam Room Door is very expensive, and has to be Custom Made, so there's no way we would take that chance on measuring it ourselves -- it's not about whether we can measure it, it's a responsibility thing with the Glass Company.

You know one thing we always do? We give the Owner of any Company the benefit of the doubt. We've had employees over the years who could have caused major problems in the Company if they had been left in charge, and we know that often the Owner is not aware of the actions of an employee. It's best to contact the Owner directly to talk with them -- especially in Construction, but I would imagine that rule applies to a variety of businesses.

Ugh, Dwight just came into my office to 'see if I had Writer's Block...' Man, that is soooo annoyink! Only a non-writer would ever say that out loud! With any luck he'll find something else to do and stay out of my office! (And I say that with the teeeeeensiest amount of affection! ha,ha,ha!)

Hey, remember I was saying that I can't stop thinking about the Round Stairwell, and how I could design a Home around it for a Future Build? Well, here's the web address -- I haven't had a minute to contact the Company (except that they have supplied us with Products for the Stair-Rail in this House...). Anyway, it's the Weekend, so you might have a spare minute to check it out -- it's good for 'Food for Thought'! http://www.prestigerailings.com -- I like the Giant Round Stairwell -- it's a little like a big Keyhole...Let me know if you like it, too!

Tip of the Day: It's a little 'Exercise' or 'Muscle Control' Tip. Every time you are sitting at your Desk, watching TV, or in the Car, be aware of your Stomach Muscles. Instead of letting them flail around (now that's a beautiful image, ain't it?? ha,ha)!), make a conscious effort to pulling them in to flatten your Stomach. This goes into the category of 'every little bit counts'! Did I tell you I used to be a Fitness Instructor? Yep, Back in the Day!

Here are a few more pictures of the Dining Room -- right after we Grouted the Tile (I loooove Grouting -- I really do!). There's a gorgeous Mountain View through these Dining Room Windows (also throgh all the Windows on the West Side of the House...), but I love to look at the Mountains when we're eating. It makes for a very nice 'Dining Experience'!

Doesn't Tia look cute? She has her own Page, if you haven't been in to see her, yet!

Thanks for popping by for a wee visit! Tell all your friends to swing in to see me, please!

I'm a little Traveller (but not short and stout, like in the Tea Kettle Song! ha,ha!), and it's fun to live in another Country to get to know the people and experience a whole new way of life. Thought you might like to have a wee look at this!

Friday, January 23rd, 2004. Hello, Darling! Honey-Pie! Cream Cake! You'd think I skipped Breakfast, with all those food-related names, eh? ha,ha,ha! No, no, I had my favorite Apple Crumble. And we accidentally ran out of Milk, which is easy to to in this house, since we have Three Fridges, so everyone makes the assumption that there must be a Store of Milk or Bread in another Fridge, you just can't see it in the Kitchen Fridge... anyway, that led me to a really great little discovery. I drink a tremendous amount of Tea, and I happen to like my Tea with Milk, so I was not very happy about the prospect of having my Tea, this morning, 'sans milk' (without milk, in case you don't use French for Fun and Games, although very little profit...! ha,ha!). I remembered that I had bought a bag of Powdered Skim Milk, just for a situation like this, so I rumaged through the Pantry until I found it, and put 2 Teaspoons in my Tea.

I know, so far it's a riveting story! But here's the great thing -- I checked the Label to see how many Grams of Fat were in the Dried Skim Milk, and after getting my calculator to figure it out (Math doesn't agree with me in the Morning! ha,ha!), it turns out that there are .024 grams of Fat per Teaspoon of Dried Skim Milk Now I was going to use Coffee Mate, which I am fond of in my Coffee (tastes yucky in Tea... but I was desperate!), so I went to check the Fat Grams in that, and there's 1 Full Gram of Fat per Teaspoon. Typically, I use 3 or 4 Teaspoons of Coffemate in my Coffee (that's why I drink Tea), so that's a lot of extra Fat per day that could easily be eliminated. Every Fat Gram that you can eliminate from your Daily Routine makes a big difference in your Weight Loss or Weight Maintenance Plan.

You know how I've lost over 30 pounds over the last year, right? Well, I think I got stuck at the last 5 to 10 pounds (we'll see how that goes!), but now I'm thinking that I've stumbled onto a way to get anywhere from 10 to 20 grams of Fat per Day out of my regular Diet. I didn't want to look at the Fat Grams in the Milk (I like 2% Milk...) for my Tea, since I have no intention of not drinking it, and I don't like it without milk... So now I'm going to use the Dried Milk, since it didn't change the flavour of my Tea (so I like it!), and I can cut out those Fat Grams. You can give it a try, too, if you're watching your weight. Or you've run out of milk!

Hey, we actually cut the Wood for the Trim around the Steam Room Door -- which means I better get out to the Garage, today, to get it painted before Dwight gets home. Then we can put it up this weekend. In case you're wondering what I wear when I'm painting, I switch from my Black Miniskirt (that I wore right through the entire Build! -- It's 'Mini-Skirt Building!! ha,ha!) over to my Blue Miniskirt, and a sweat shirt that I no longer care about... That's just me -- I don't care to be boxed in by anyone's expectations of what I should look like when I'm working... unless I'm at a real job, when I tend to wear a Suit -- with a Mini-Skirt! Ah, well. You can't take the 60's out of the Girl, and that's what I grew up with, so that's what's comfy for me! Come to think of it, I don't think I even own a pair of pants ... Dwight used to get on me about that all the time when I first moved here (8 and a half very long years ago!!), because he didn't think I looked 'Western Enough'. Well, for some folks, that's a good thing...! har, har!

Tip of the Day: Since I'm on my way out to the Garage to Paint some Trim-work as soon as I'm done my Daily Update, today's Tip is for Painting Trim. I've had to paint, literally, thousands and thousands of Trimwork for this house, so I've developed little tricks to make the job faster and easier. The first thing is to Use Three Saw Horses instead of Two Saw Horses to hold up the Trim -- that way it won't sag in the middle, which is particularly important when the lumber is anywhere from 10 to 14 Feet long.

The next thing is to use a 4" Sponge Roller, along with a 3" Paint Brush, especially when your Trim-work has a lot of Grooves in it. I always paint each Edge of the Trim First, then go back and do the Face of the Trim. For realy Deep Grooves, I use the Brush, first, then go over it with the Tip of the Roller, then use the Roller normally to leave a nice smooth Finish.

And then Good Lighting, and plenty of Heat where you're Painting, so the Paint can Dry quickly. I put the finished pieces up against the Wall, in a standing Position, so they don't accidentally stick together. That crazy Dwight stacked my last batch (I paint them 9 at a time...) on the Floor, so now I have to re-do them -- like I don't have enough work to do... aaaaah! Anyhooo, good thing I enjoy painting!

We had a huuuge issue at the beginning of the Winter Season (I think it started in September, this year..!). Anyway, I pulled all the Mitts, Hats and Scarves out of the Top Cupboard and put in a Row of Individual Plastic Containers -- one for each member of the Household. So far, so good, although I still have to go find Dwight's Gloves for him, even though his basket is the first one in the cupboard...

The Third picture is the Dining Room from the Second Part of the Front Entry. I couldn't find this picture, yesterday, but here it is today! It's very cheery and sunny, just like ME! ha,ha,ha,ha!

Okay, I'll see you tomorrow! I'd better get on my Blue MiniSkirt and start Paintin'!!

Thursday, January 22nd, 2004. Happy Chinese New Year, My Crazy Little Monkey!! That's right, it's the first day of the Chinese New Year, and it's the Year of the Monkey. Apparently, this will be a year of Quick Change (hope that doesn't mean 'plenty of quarters and dimes...' ha,ha,ha!). So accordingly, Accordian Players will do very well if they can adapt quickly to change, although I gotta say that if you're still playing the Accordian, or just learning how to play, speedy change may not be your forte! ha,ha,ha! Ah, well. Go ahead and play us the Polka Number, then we can get on with our day... "I've got the Polka In Me!" How come that never took off? It's a mystery, ain't it?? har, har!

Dwight brought home a Flyer from a local Stair Railing Company the other day, so, of course, it's on my desk right in front of me, and I have the pamphlet turned to the page with the gigantic Circular Stairwell on it -- I'll see if I can get you the picture, too -- anyway, I can't stop thinking about the Circular Stair... Now I want one, too! Must try to figure out how big the Upper Floor would have to be to accomodate it... Our Stairwell area takes up a great big area, already, and we have a big house, so it's going to be a little tricky. I'm thinking that a Giant Square Home would accomodate a Circular Stair Design. I think I could reconfigure this house to make that fit... I'll need to work on that for a Future Build.

Are you watching Ellen Degeneres, yet? I hope so -- she's hilarious! And she has an Skunk and Gopher Problem. The Skunk Problem I would imagine is a whole lot more annoyink! Plus, I thought this Ad was funny! Anyhoo, I know how to deal with a Gopher Problem, but it can be pretty time consuming, labor-wise. You dig a trench around the Property and put in a 2 Foot Mesh Fence under the Ground, then the Regular Mesh Fence goes on top of that. Now, if you have a really big Property, that's difficult, and if you live in an area that prohibits fencing of any kind, it'll be impossible, because they just run in...! And if the wee animals (Pesty and Smelly, if you've named them...) are keeping a close eye on you, and they know where the Driveway is, forget it.

As for Skunks (and no, not just a hideous Ex that you may think of as a Skunk...) can be caught in Traps and removed to a different area -- and not a neighbor's house, even if you think the Skunks would fit right in at the neighbor's...ha,ha,ha! You want to find a place really far away ... across a major Highway... no, I'm kiddink! Maybe to the Woods out there somewhere. Or call the Local Animal Control Center. They know everything! I had to call them last year about a couple of Coyotes that were making me nervous, but they're gone, now, so I think they moved to Florida. Lucky Beasts! ha,ha! (Of course, I'm visualizing your hideous Ex caught in a Trap and being dropped off in the Country! ha,ha,ha,ha! Ah, the things that amuse me!)

So if you have any little Tricks to get rid of any sort of 'Unwanteds' (including the Ex!!), drop me a line and we'll put it on the Site. I put a couple of other ideas on my Landscaping Page, so you can have a wee look through that if you are having an issue.

Oh, hey. Did you see The Apprentice last night? What a great Show! You can really see how a whole Group can be affected by one 'Bad Egg'. Man, can you imagine either working FOR or WITH that obnoxious little Sam? Try imagining being married to someone like that (lucky me -- already been there -- won't go down a road that crazy again!! And, no, I'm not secretly referring to Dwightie!! ha,ha!)! But that is the Personality Type that can do very well as an Entrepreneur, so we'll see if he just disappears in a cloud of fury or creates some amazing new Product. You never know.

And I'm sorry to see that the Women are still bickering so much. And what's with all the Touching? If I'm having a meeting with someone and they touched me like that, I would have to keep backing up -- that's too annoyink! Can't stand that. and if someone happens to be crazy, that kind of thing is often, 'touch, touch, touch, grab...', and that's what happened on the Show. I just don't get why some women won't follow the basic rules of business... However, the Women are winning every single Event, which is great! So far, my favorite 'Girl' is Amy, and I do not like Kristina, I think her name is. I like the Country Boy -- I think he's a Mortgage Lender...anyway, he's very calm -- I like that in a Leader. Crazy -- no. Calm -- yeah, okay.

Tip of the Day: In keeping with the idea of Staying Calm and Keeping Your Stress Level Down, whenever you find yourself all Stressed Out, make a conscious effort to relax your face. That's where the Stress and any Reaction register immediately. You'd be surprised at how you can calm your thoughts by calming your face. And you'll stay 'Wrinkle-Free', too! Try it the next time you wrinkle up your face in reaction to any situation at all. It's a cool little technique! Oh, yeah, it helps to take a really deep breath and let it out slowly... it'll become second nature to do this after you've tried it a few times.

These are the Dining Room Drapes -- we carried the Same Deep Green Silk Drapes and the Eggshell Sheers through the Whole Front Area of the House -- the Front Entry, the Great Room and the Dining Room. It looks really pretty.

The Third Picture is of the Sunroom at Night -- I rarely close the Curtains, except to keep the Sun Out on really Bright Days. Tia loves to bask in the Sun, so she likes the Curtains left open -- she told me in her own cute little doggie way! ha,ha,ha!

Hey, you know what? This Company, Truestar Health, has a special Promotion for their Affiliates (folks like MEEE!) -- they are giving away a Soft Top Mercedes Benz to their Top Affilliate, so I was thinking that maybe, just maybe, you could help me out and click on to see their Program! Now, wouldn't I look great in a Soft Top Mercedes? ha,ha,ha,ha! Thanks in Advance! Ailsa!!

Wednesday, January 21st, 2004. Hi, Honey-Babe! Hey, you know what I forgot to mention, yesterday? I just got these new DeVry Banners for my Site -- did I tell you that I used to Teach at DeVry? What a lot of fun, and I had fabulous Students, some of whom are great friends of mine, now. That's the cool thing about Teaching Adults -- they can become your buddies, and you can learn a lot from them. For the Curious Reader, I used to Teach Public Speaking, which I adore, and English. Now there's a big surprise! ha,ha!

It's a funny thing how people tend to put you in a Box, no matter what your Profession or Career Choice. I happen to love Teaching all sorts of Students. I am particularly fond of Special Education, because I have a very big soft spot in my heart for anyone who needs some extra help, but I also love Teaching Adults who are looking to Improve their Lives... I guess that's why I wrote this Site, right?? Anyway, it's easy to categorize people into tight little boxes, but it isn't very useful. Each person is sooo multi-faceted that you never know what they're capable of -- that's the great thing about keeping your mind open...

Also, I've been in Contact with Bobbi at the University of Phoenix Online, since I think I'll do another Degree Online. I don't have time to go and take any Classes away from the House, and I like to work on my own, anyway, so it's a really good option for me. It's a great option, to take Courses online. You can take any Level of Degree (Associates Degree, Bachelors, Masters or Doctorate, and there are a Ton of Professional Level Courses you can take to increase your Salary or Get a Promotion -- hopefully both! ha,ha!) Online, now, too, which I think is an amazing opportunity.

You know how I love to 'Bust a Myth'... one thing that a lot of High School Students are told (it's drummed into their heads...) is that they have to be a Top Student with a 95% Average to ever get into College or University. I'm here to tell you that isn't true, unless you're heading off to an Ivy League University. I know now, as an adult, that pretty much Any Degree is a Good Degree, once you're in the Working World, so if you or your child wants to pursue a Higher Education, don't let the old Myths hold you back. Often you can be accepted into a College Program as an Adult Student if you've been out of High School for a Full Year (hopefully Working or Travelling...). Sometimes there's a condition that you need to get a particular Grade Point Average in that First Course to continue on with the Program, sometimes not. Either way, it's worth a shot and could open a whole new future for you or your kids.

Hey, did you see the State of the Union Address in the States, last night? I just caught a bit of it on the Nightly News, and I am constantly amazed at the level of concern over Same-Sex Marriage. I stand by my claim that everyone should have the right to be miserable.. oops, I mean married! .ha,ha,ha,ha! I'm kiddink! I'm sure somebody has a great marriage! (You can write to me -- give us all your secrets! ha,ha!) Maybe that's another place where I can 'Bust a Myth'! Sounds like some sort of fancy new dance move, don't it? ha,ha,ha!

Oooh, The Apprentice is on, tonight! Yippee! We love that new Show! What a great way to learn a little sumin' sumin' about Business. And I really hope we get to go back into his House, because I need to have a good look at his Fireplace Mantel -- I think it was all Mirrored, which is a very cool idea. You'll enjoy the human drama, too and it doesn't hurt that the 'Contestants' are good-looking, too! It's okay to live vicariously through someone else, ain't it? ha,ha! I'm gonna call it 'Entertainment with an Edge'!

Tip of the Day: This Tip comes from my Daughter, Cara -- she's 15, in case you're new to the Site! Anyway, Cara is wearing Make-Up, now, so she had to find a good (and easy!) way to remove the Make-Up... and it's particularly good for 'Stage Make-Up', if you happened to be gettin' yourself all dolled up at night! har, har! Anyway, the Tip is to Put some Lubriderm Hand Cream on a Paper Hankie (Kleenex), then wipe the Make up right off.

I found this little trick particularly useful after I had the Lasik Eye Surgery. You can't really touch your Eye (or Eyes, depending on whether both eyes were done... I only had my Left Eye done...) at all after the Surgery, but eventually you'll want to wear Eye Make-Up, again (if you're likely to wear make up already -- who am I to judge?? ha,ha,ha!). After Corrective Eye Surgery, you'll want to be extra gentle with you eyes, so the Hand Cream on the Hankie works really well. Before the Eye Surgery, I just used my favorite Anti-Bacterial Hand Soap and Baking Soda... you know I'm a Baking Soda Girl!

Here are some more Curtains -- these ones are in the Sunroom off the Master Bedroom -- it's really pretty! See the Holdbacks in the First shot? Holdbacks can make a really big difference in how the Windows look. When you have a great view, you don't want to cover it up -- just 'Framing it with Draperies' is the thing to do. We carried the same Soft Sage (They look and feel like a soft suede) into the Bedroom, too, so it's a nice soft contnuous look. Very lovely!

All the Drapes and Window Coverings are from Linens 'N Things, one of my favorite Stores for Home Decorating. The Artwork is by Cara Roy, a wonderful Water-color Artist in Florida. My Mum and Dad got us a Series of her Work -- it's beautiful. I'll check and see if she has a Website...! Of course, we love her name -- Cara!

Tuesday, January 20th, 2004. Hey, Sugar!! Have you heard that song, "Sugah', How'd You Get So Fly?" I'm pretty sure they wrote it for you! Cute little Song for a Cute Litte Reader! ha,ha,ha! (Come on, there's probably some tiny part of you that still sees yourself as 'little'! ha,ha,ha!) Oh, that reminds me -- did you catch 'Big Loser Hawaii' -- no, wait... that's not right... "Average Joe Hawaii" -- that's it! ha,ha,ha! Man, that has to be one of the funniest Shows on TV (on Monday Nights, anyway!). All the Studlies arrived on the Island in last night's Episode, and the poor old guys were hoping against hope that at least one of them was the Captain of the Ship and it was just some sort of new Dating Experience. ha,ha,ha!

I love that Show because it really does put Personality before Looks, since even when someone looks fabulous, if they are a total jerk (male or female!), you can't stand to look at them, anyway. It's true... but the other thing that is very true is that there is a Myth out there that if someone is Good-Looking, they couldn't possibly be nice, and there's not a chance in hell they'd be smart or productive... now really, who made that one up? I think it might have been one of the Average Joes, in an effort to dissuade the girls from them! ha,ha,ha! Jerks can be any size, shape, shade, nationality -- you name it. You'd be surprised (and perhaps you already have been surprised by what's in 'the package', once you've opened it! ha,ha,ha!) Likewise, Great Folks can come in any package, too, so I like that they present all that stuff on Average Joe -- plus, you get to see that lovely house in Hawaii! Hey, start taking note of the Lighting on these Shows -- they're all using Blue and Mauve Up-Lighting that I love...very cool!

Hmmm, my Glass Guy still hasn't come over to measure for the Glass Steam Room Door. I don't like to call over and over again, but I'll put in one more call, then see what happens. Dwight has some Painters coming over, tonight -- he won't let me ("Let Me" -- can you belive that?? Like it's a special honor to Paint the Doors... ah,well, that's the Building Life!) paint the Doors in the House. We have something like 20 doors, including the French Glass Doors which I wanted to leave Natural, but Dwight wants them to be White, so White it is. I'm done with fighting about color! Let the Boy have what he wants! .Really, it's not worth fighting about little things in the house, especially if it doesn't affect the overall Property Value -- if it did, I would do it my way and put up with the pouting! ha,ha,ha,ha!

Tip of the Day: When you're at a stale-mate (no, that's not the new name for your spouse...!ha,ha,ha!) with your Partner, use the Art of Negotiation and find a reasonable compromise. Sometimes a reasonable Compromise is just giving in and letting them have their way, if that'll keep the job moving along. Or make life a lot more pleasant. I really did fight Dwight on the Window Dressings, though, and the Wall Color. Oh, and the Addition of the Sunroom and the Size of the Kitchen Island, but those were really important, and Dwight loves them all, now. I knew he would -- it was just a matter of him seeing it first, but the job has to be done before you can see it... you can see the little annoyink circle of fun that was!! ha,ha,ha!

Dwightie desperately wanted Blinds on all the Windows, but that wan't gonna happen -- not in this house. Some houses suit them, and some really need soft, luxurious curtains, and this house screamed out (or was that me? ha,ha,ha! No, I don't like to shout!) for soft and luxurious!

Here are some of the Curtains -- I'll put some more on, tomorrow. Dwight said, "Absolutely no Gold...", so these are "Bronze" (ha,ha!), and he loves them. He had some bizarre notion in his head about what 'Gold Drapes' would look like. Apparently, it was some distant memory from the 70's, where I think Dwight still likes to live, if his taste in music is any indication! ha,ha,ha! I bought him a new Stereo for Christmas, and the first CD he put on (at least it was a CD, but he was excited when he thought it had a 8-track, if you can believe that!! ha,ha,ha!) was Boston. That's okay, I like Boston, too, but then after a few songs Cara ran into her room to get some more up-to-date music! Ah, the Past. It's an easier place to livefor some folks!

Monday, January 19th, 2004. Hey, Baby! Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!! It's a big day in the States, but it should be everywhere because of the incredible work Martin Luther King, Jr., did, right? Believe me, Racism and Bigotry exist in every Country, and his words and actions are felt throughout the whole world. At the very least, we can take a wee minute to think of the Oppressed People in any Given Society (look Outside the Box...) and see what we can each do to make things better.

Well, my Purple Finger has been down-graded to a Mauve... what a weird experience that was -- I hope that never happens, again. But I did find out some information that I didn't know before that might either help you to avoid it happening to you, or to recognize it if it were to happen... You know when you're carrying Bags of Groceries or a Tin of Paint? I'm constantly carrying around Tins of Paint, so is a concern for me, now, because you tend to carry it in the crook of your fingers, and that can create a lot of pressure on your fingers, which can cause a blood vessel to burst. Yuck, I know! At least you won't immediately think you're having some really horrible thing happen! Still, check it out with the Doctor if it does happen to you...

Hey, have you heard that The Wayne Brady Show is going to be cancelled?? One of my Faithful Readers, Theresa (Hi, Theresa!!) told me about that, then I heard it on the Show, this morning. Now why would they take such a great Show off the Air? Maybe another Network can pick him up, because he has a very positive, upbeat Show. I'll Link his Name for you to click on and send a message that you would like to see The Wayne Brady Show stay on the Air (anybody's Air!), if you would like to support it. The Internet is an amazing little tool to exercise your Voice, so why not see if we could start a Grass Roots Movement for this?

Wayne had Montel Williams on his Show, today, and he was talking about his MS -- Montel has his own Website that you might like to Click On to find out more about MS. You can make a Donation, too, for MS Research (it's all about the Research, ain't it? Wonder why we don't open up the Big Government Wallets for Research?). His Site is www.montelms.org. Montel was mentioning his interest in Legalizing Marijuana, specifically for Medical use, which seems painfully obvious to me -- it's bizarre how one 'drug' can take on a whole world of it's own, when all sorts of other addictive 'stimulants' are no problem at all. It's mostly just Politics, and we all know how very useful that is in the management of Health Care.

Now, you might have heard that Canada has been making some big changes in the Medical Use of Marijuana, because it is such an effective 'drug' for MS, some Cancer Treatments, Pain and Nausea Relief, which is huge for Aids Patients... really, I don't get why this has become such a big Political Issue and not a Medical Issue. (Just for the Record, I did try this once when I was 21, and it made me horribly ill, so it ain't for me -- I happen to like a wee Drink every now and then -- but it is very useful for a whole lot of people in need of it, so Change has got to happen...)

Are there any Inventors out there -- or someone with a pile of dough sitting on the Table, just wondering where to go now?? ha,ha! I just thought of a cool product that could help distribute the weight of a Tin of Paint or your Bags of Groceries -- it could be a molded piece of plastic about 5" X 4" with a curve to hold the weight... You could slip it under the Handles so it would be better for your Fingers!

Tip of the Day: It's a little Weight Loss Tip, or a Tip for Staying Healthy... when you go to the Grocery Store, Start in the Fruit and Veggie Aisle, then make your way all the way aroung the Outside of the Store (not outside the store, although then you'd really be losing some pounds -- ha,ha,ha!). All the 'Staple' Foods are around the Perimeter, so if you hit those sections, first, you won't have nearly so much room in your Cart for the 'Extras' that add all the pounds. Except for the Cereal Aisle where you'll find the Rolled Oats, and the Baking Aisle where you'll be able to pick up the Barley or Whole Wheat Flour for the Apple Crumble Recipe!! I hope you're all enjoying that little treat! Let me know how it works for you!

The First Picture is of the California Knockdown Stipple Ceiling. It's our favorite choice for a nice, clean ceiling.

It has a nice sheen, and is a Classic Look, so it's very Practical. You can see the Pot Lights -- they are very nice and never go out of Style, either. Some Lighting is very 'Year-Specific', and it's probably wise to steer away from that, especially if you are looking at re-sale value in the future...

The last Two Pictures are more recent pics of my Office it's a very pleasant work space, that's for sure!

You know what I've wanted to do for a while but still haven't figured out how to do?? That's right, Start a Newsletter! Man, you're clairvoyant! (Or maybe just your first name is 'Clair'...)

Whatever your name is (and please write and tell me!), the main thing is that I don't know how to do a newsletter, so I thought I'd just set up a Page on my site (you're at www.buildyourownhouse.ca, in case you were wondering...) where I can just add my Daily Thoughts and some really useful tips.

Every so often I'll throw in a useless tip, just for fun! We can play 'try to spot the difference between the useful tips and the useless tips'! I know, that's not a really good and efficient title for a game, so I'll have to come up with something waaaaay shorter...right after I learn how to do a newsletter! ha,ha!

Let's get started, shall we?! Oh, yeah. If you could do me an enormous favor and tell as many people as are on your e-mail lists, who haven't already blocked you for God knows what reason, that my little website exists and is chock full of fun and exciting info, like 'How to Turn Off Your Toilet', and other equally stimulating things like that, I'd be thrilled. And perhaps rich ...ha,ha,ha,ha! I'd share it with you, though...I really would, Clair.

Here's what to Copy & Send! (Hey, a Giant Thanks to all of my clearly brilliant and kind Readers who have passed along my little Site Message -- looks like my Site Traffic is growing dramatically! Now if I could just turn a profit!! Feel free to 'Click Away' on any ads that look appealing to you!)

Hey, I found this cool new site that's supposed to be All About Building, but really has All Sorts of Interesting and Topical Stuff that You'll Really Like (and might make you Rich!)...Click on when you have a minute! (Please!) www.buildyourownhouse.ca

There, now you can just Copy and Paste this off to the rest of the world! WooHoo! We'll have all sorts of new friends before we know it!

To Save Build Your Own House to Your Favorites, just hit Control D and follow the directions from there. Or just Add me to your Favorites!

(I'm looking for a 'Favorites' Button and a good Counter -- I'm not sure why my old webmaster took it off, but now I need to find a new one...)

Hey, let's get to know each other a little better! Drop me a line and tell me about yourself, your favorite part of the Site, and any particular topic you might like me to deal with... building related or otherwise! You can write to me at:

It's always good to Check Out eBay! They have a fabulous Real Estate Section, as well as pretty much everything else!!

I just got this info from my friend, Karen, so please click on and have a wee look!

Okay, so I really like this Company -- they have a Great Executive Staff (yep...now I'm making friends in high places, all right! ha,ha,ha!), which means a lot! Plus, don't we all want to Be (and/or marry!) a Millionaire?! ha,ha,ha! Then we can all build houses with lovely Negative Edge Pools, right?? har, har!

Here it is! The Brand New Bruce A. Berman Ad!! Yippee! Just in time for Holiday Giving for you and the folks you know!! ha,ha! You can all be Rich (then they won't be comin' to you for money -- now won't that be nice??)

Hey, guess what? My Pal, John, an Ad Executive at Bruce A. Berman, was telling me that they have a new Program where you can get some of their Products FREE!! WooHoo! Learn How to Be Rich, fer free!! ha,ha! Just follow the Link above until I get the new Banner Ad, and it'll take you to the Free Stuff!

Are you worried about another Power Outage or getting ready for yet another storm?? We are constantly running out of batteries (those little 4 year olds go through a LOT of Batteries!ha,ha!), so here's a useful link for you.

Speaking of Power Outages, I've been checking into Wind and Solar Power Systems for a while, now. Dwight is particularly interested in Ground Heat (Geo-thermal Heating...). There must be a great way to create our own Power, so I'll let you know what I discover -- I'm just a little Researcher -- I really, really love to research all sorts of stuff! I'm like an Information Junkie (More Information, Less Heroin! Now there's a good motto! ha,ha,ha!).

Wind Power is my favorite Topic, right now, right after 'you know what', which reminds me, Sex in the City starts it's new season up here in the Boonies (they make Canadians wait and wait for the really great shows ... some kind of reward for living in Canada...no, wait, that's all the extra taxes you get to pay... Hey, when we came back from our trip down to L.A. this summer, I thought they should have had a giant sign at the Border "Thanks for Coming Back, eh!" Then in little letters, it could say something like, "Here's a Pound of Canadian Back Bacon -- Please Consider Staying!"...We're always soooo polite! ha,ha,ha! Lately, I've taken to calling Canada , "Canad'uh", which I find very amusing.(I'm constantly trying to amuse myself!! ha,ha! Just thought I'd share that with you, so you can have a wee laugh, too!)

It's the Weekend Update for Saturday & Sunday, January 17th/18th. Just in case you've been hiding out in a Mole Hole -- I don't know what you're up to on the Weekend! ha,ha,ha! Hi, Honey! I'm sooo glad you swung by for a visit! Hey, did you see the new Counter thingee when you first Click on to my Site? It comes up on the Top Bar and you can go on that to leave me a Message and Rate My Site -- cool, eh? I have absolutely no idea how it got there, so I hope it's a Free service! ha,ha,ha! But that'll be a good way to get to know one another, and I don't have to do any extra work -- now that sounds good to me!

Well, my Weekends are geting really busy, and Dwight hates when I work on the Computer, so now I'm going to do a 'Weekend Update' to save a wee bit of time...I got my Purple Finger checked out at the Doctor, and it turned out to be a Burst Blood Vessel. Eeeeew, I know! It's bizarre .. who even knew that could happen? Turns out that it's happened to some family members, too, so it may be something you might come across, too, so if your finger starts to swell and turn blue, don't panic like I did -- apply Ice, massage it lightly, and take advantage of the situation and try to get in an extra nap -- it's worth a try! My finger is still all purle, and I can't wear any Rings on that Finger (my Wedding Ring Finger, ironically enough -- you know how everyone is always praying for a Sign, just One Big Sign...and now my ring finger looks completely crazy... who knows!

Tip of the Day: Hey, Dr. Phil had a whole Show on The Art of Negotiating a Deal on Friday, and I didn't have a chance to mention it to you -- he had some good ideas, though. One of the Myths of Buying a Home, though, is letting someone know you like it, let alone Love it. I don't see anything wrong with that -- it won't harm your Deal -- the Seller already knows exactly how much they'll Settle at, so the fact that you like a Property doesn't change that number. The Seller might even be more likely to help you get into the Property if they know you love it, because then they'll really like you. That's Human Nature, and something they didn't cover on the Show.

Typically, if you are Putting in an Offer on a House (not a New House or a House Sold by a Builder -- they rarely alter their Price...), you are generally safe to offer from $1,000. to $9,000. under the Asking Price if the Price is under $200,000. The Higher the Price of the Home, the more you can try to Bargain, but be aware that the more the House Costs, the less likely it is that the Seller needs to Sell. It's worth a Try, though, and it probably won't hurt just discussing the Price. Land is also the Sort of Property that rarely has a Negotiated Price -- they'll tell you how much they want for it, and you pay if you really want it! That's just the way it is -- Land is always at a Premium, especially in or around the City.

Well, these are some High Quality Pictures, ain't they?? ha,ha! Ah, well -- that's where Cara gets the Bus to her Fine Arts High School. If you click on the Picture, you'll be able to see the bus. We all look forward to the sun coming up earlier so it's nice and bright when she gets on the Bus! That's right at the Corner of Our Land -- about 295 Feet from the Deck off the Sunroom.

Thanks for coming in for a Visit on Your Busy Weekend! Drop me a Line on that New Site Rating thing -- it'll be fun to read your Messages!

Friday, January 16th, 2004. Yo, yo, yo...what's happenin', Man?? I've gotta say, you can really carry off that Pimp Hat -- it's not a look for every body, but it looks stunning on you. Let me know if you make any extra money, "by accident"! ha,ha,ha,ha! Well, the weirdest thing happened to me, this morning -- that's why I'm sooo late Posting, today. My Ring Finger on my Left Hand turned Blue, then Purple, and it felt like it was going to explode. It was ludicrously painful, and I thought it was an early sign of a Heart Attack, so right after I made Cara's Lunch and sent her off to School (I'm a typical Mother -- kids first, health second...) , I went to get Dwight to show him my hand. I was going to say 'my finger', but that didn't sound right...har, har! Now it's about 5 hours later and my finger is still all purple, but it's not throbbing anymore, but it's still very weird! Yuck. This can't be good!

I'm not going to do any Construction Stuff, today, although Dwight wants me to go around and fill in any Nail Holes that need to be filled with White Dap. Have you ever used that Product? You can get it in a bunch of colors, and it comes in a Tube.You cut the end off the Tube and apply the Dap directly to any wee holes you might have. I use it when I'm Painting Trim, too -- sometimes you'll get a piece of Trim that has a bit of a bash in it, so you can fill it, then paint over it. Works really well. Maybe I'll do a little bit of work -- ugh, I hate feeling guilty if I don't do it! I might just be better off if I learn how to either live with the guilt, or not be so easliy guilted into things... hmmmm... my finger says, "No!". ha.ha.ha,ha!

I fogot to mention that I was in for a Pap Test the other day -- I know, that's fascinating, but I only tell you to remind you to pop in yourself or send in a woman you love (that's open for lots of lifestyles, don't it? ha,ha!). Now, there's a story here, of course, as always... that was the Third time I had made an Appointment for the Pap Test in the last six months, and it had taken me a year and a half to find a new Doctor out here (it's very difficult to find a Doctor in Canada -- it's a myth that our Health Care System is fabulous -- it ain't!). So that meant that it had bee almost Two Years since my last Pap Test, and I was very upset about that, because it is a critical Test for identifying Cervical Cancer... So when I wnet in for this Third Appointment (each of the other times I was told the Doctor wasn't even in the day they had scheduled the appointment for me...), it turned out that I had been scheduled for yet another time when my Doctor wasn't even in, but I was lucky enough that the Other Doctor was willing to take me in, and he was not only a great Doctor, I learned more than I ever have in all these years of Gyno Appointments...

It turns out that I was still within an acceptable time frame, since up to two years between Appointments is okay, but the Once A Year is still better, if it's possible. And I also learned that the Pap doesn't test for Ovarian Cancer -- you need to have an Internal (all the ladies know what that Test is!) to check for any Swelling of the Ovaries.... Okay, that's it for medical stuff, but it is very important to have all sorts of Check-Ups to keep yourself healthy. I really believe that is the New Wave of Medicine and Health Care -- to work harder to Maintain Good Health, rather than only tackle things when all hell breaks loose. You know what I mean... my poor little purple finger is taking up most of my thoughts, today!

Tip of the Day: If you have an Injury or something happens that requires an Ice Pack, put a bunch of Frozen Peas in a Ziplock Sandwich Bag -- or God Forbid, if it's an enormous area that needs to be covered, just use the whole Bag of Peas! And if you've never tried Tiger Balm for any sore spots (muscular...), keep an eye out for this Product -- it's very effective for Hot, then Cold, Relief.

Here's our little Deer Family -- they come out for'Dinner' in the early Evening. I love the color of the Sky at this time of Day -- it's almost Surreal!

Thanks for coming in for a wee visit! Enjoy Your Weekend, and swing in to see me when you have a minute!

Wednesday, January 15th, 2004. Hey, Baby! What's Up?? No, no, don't give me any details... it's jus' a leeettle colloquialism!! ha,ha,ha! Did you get a chance to check out some of the New TV Shows, last night? There are two new (or new to me!) Real Estate Shows that we caught -- one was Canadian and the other one was a British Show -- Buy Me! and Selling Houses. It's all very entertaining for us because they show you the Buyer, the Seller and the Realtor, and some people are just a bit condescending to the others, which we do not care for at all -- when did it become acceptable to 'talk down' to someone you're working for, hmmmm? These Shows should serve as a wake up call for everyone, no matter what side you're on, so that there's mutual respect all around.

I thought the one guy who happened to be the Seller was going to have a heart attack when the Realtor called him into her Office, much like the Principal calls you into the Office -- everyone (except for the really good ones...) can relate to that horrible sick feeling in the pit of your stomach, in the anticipation of something bad... but it was just a little trick -- ha,ha! They had sold their house! Now, who does that? Craaaazy! If only it were dealt with like any other normal Busines Transaction -- can you imagine having a Business Meeting and the other person thinks it would be very entertaining to make you feel ill before you find out about the Deal?? ha,ha,ha! Ah, well.

Now there were quite a few Myths (or Blatant Lies, depending on how kind you want to be in reference to the 'Myths'...) about Selling and Buying. One big one is the amount of time it takes to Sell a House. The couple who wanted to sell their house said they wanted it sold in a week. Puh-leeease! A week is a tiny amount of time -- it's not good for your Heart to put that kind of a time-frame on anything, especially something as big as selling your home. That sets people up for a sense of failure, when it's not a practical thought to begin with. It's not in any way uncommon for any home to be on the Market for 3 - 6 months. That's no big deal. So don't get yer knickers in a knot when you're about to Sell! ha,ha,ha! Just realx and know that there's a Buyer for Every House. It's true. Just a matter of them swingin' by, is all. So you let go of the time frame, and you let go of the stress.

Dwight was all mad when the Buyer had the Inspector come over to check out the Furnace -- you know Dwight looooves a furnace story! ha,ha! Well, the guy takes a look at the furnace and says it's okay. Dwight was beside himself -- "That's not right -- he's gotta do a Carbon Monoxide Test!" I said to Dwight the Inspector would come back with an estimate of 10 Grand to have the stuff in this older home fixed, and wouldn't you know it -- the estimate came back at $8,000 - $10,000....surprise, surprise! Most Inspectors are good, but there are some out there who really don't know what they're doing. Sometimes Two Inspectors would be wise... This is a job for a 'Word of Mouth' guy, since you'll want someone you can trust.

They also did a thing on 'Impulse Buying' about houses -- that's the silliest notion I've heard all week! You know right away whether you love a new house...when we walked into our last house, I remember standing at the Kitchen Island and saying to Dwight, "I have to have this house!" And I meant it -- and thankfully Dwight agreed! You get a 'feeling' for a Home -- one house we walked into and I should have liked it, but I got a terrible 'feeling' from the house, so I walked right out. Well, didn't the Realtor reem me out for doing that -- yes, he was a lovely, lovely man, and no, we didn't buy through him... So critical never to be mean (or demean) the Woman -- she's typically the one who makes the House Buying Decisions! YaaHoo for that!

Tip of the Day: When you're ready to Buy or Sell a Home, take your time and follow your heart and budget. Don't get talked into buying more than you can comfortably afford (and that's your decision, not anybody else's -- we could afford an enormous house on our next buy, but that isn't part of the new plan, so the whole 'Oh, you can afford it' schpiel won't work on us -- we know our own plan and we'll stick to it -- after all, that's how we got into this house!! ha,ha,ha!).And by the way -- I fell in love with this Land the moment we set eyes on it, so if you ever wondered if 'Love at First Sight' really exists, I think it definitely does when it comes to Real Estate! (It's probably 'Lust at First Site' for all the other kinds of Love ... although hopefully not when you're out buying a new Pet... har, har!)

Here's the Dining Room and Great Room -- Dwight and I walked up and down the Land when we first bought the Land to find the best location for these two Rooms, since you always want a fabulous View from there. We were completely focussed on the Mountains, and didn't realize how beautiful the View to the South and East was until quite a bit later -- that's how the Sunroom 'came to be' -- I looked behind me one day when we were out poking around the Land, and said to Dwight, "Schmimie (my name for Dwight...), look at the View! We need to add more Windows!" So I went home that night and stayed up 'til 2:00 am to re-design the house to include the Sunroom. Then it took me another month or so to convince Dwight that it would be a great idea -- now, of course, he takes full credit for the Sunroom! Men -- you have to let them think they thought of it, first! ha,ha,ha!

Wednesday, January 14th, 2004. Yo, yo, yo, What up, Ba-aby?? Well, I'm glad the 13th is over -- it didn't turn out to be very lucky day, after all -- in fact it was very stressful, so I was glad to get back home and lock Aidan in the House! That wee boy -- I thought he was done with the crazy running, but apparently not... it's horrifying when he is taken for a walk and slips away, then starts running. Literally. That's why we have so many locks in our house -- it's the safest environment for him. He's 4, so he should be old enough to know not to run at the first opportunity, but he does it just the same... so we spent the whole ride home going over the Safety Rules ... until he fell asleep. And thank goodness there was some great music on the radio for me to listen to -- I love that song, "What you doin'? I'm at the Holiday Inn..." I sing away without really knowing the words, but it makes me feel a whole lot better!

Dwight got home early, yesterday, so he finished Putting the Tile on the outside of the Steam Room Door, where you would step out. That way, the wall won't suffer any water damage, so that's a good thing! Still no word from the Glass Guy... that happens a lot whenever you're doing any Development or Renovation -- you always have to plan for potential delays. We find it amusing when folks think their Build or Reno will be all done on any particular day --"My Reno will be done on July 16th -- that's what my Contractor said..." ha,ha,ha,ha,ha! That's called 'A Date on the Calendar', but rarely is it anything but that -- it's just the way it is. The vast majority of Projects involve more than one Sub-Contractor, so getting things done by any one particular date doesn't happen often, unless your Contractor was wise enough to give a Date far enough in the future.

Tip of the Day: When you are talking with your Contractor or Builder, be sure to ask for an 'Outside Date' for whatever work you're having done -- that'll be a more accurate time frame for when the work will really be done. And please, oh, please don't schedule a Party or Celebration around the Anticipation Date for any Project. Also, it's very common for people not in the Trade to have a wee look at a project and put their own End Date on it -- "How long can it take to Install a Bathroom...??" Depending on the age of the Property, it can often take a lot longer than you might think... The Floor might need to come up, the walls removed and replaced, the plumbing might be as old as the hills and needs to be replaced... all sorts of things, so count on at least the amount of time your Contractor says, then maybe add a month, just to be safe.

You know how I was telling you that I rely heavily on the Beauty of the Sky to get me through the Winter, since I'm one of those people who needs plenty of color in their lives? So here's a nice mix of Orange, Purple and Yellow. Nice, huh?

Thank you for coming in for a wee visit! I'd love it if you took a minute to have a look at my new Advertiser -- that's the only way I can stay 'on the Net'..., so I really appreciate your support!

Tuesday, January 13th, 2004. Hi, Honey! You're Home! And always so very nice to see you! Your center Tooth is looking very sparkly and clean ... is that Gold?? ha,ha,ha! Just a nice little visual to get you off to a good start! The 13th -- Lucky 13 -- always a good day for me, and I hope it turns out to be for you, too. I'm guessing it's all in how you perceive the number that really determines how lucky it'll be, but whatever the reason, I love the 13th!

Hey, remember how I thought the Memory Card for my Video Camera was a little pricey? (sp??) Well, I installed it and it will hold 3205 Pictures! Can you believe that?? Cara thinks it's hilarious that they threw in an extra 5, like getting 3200 shots wasn't enough! ha,ha,ha! She's very funny -- I love a witty kid! So I think that was a great price, now1 See, it's all in the Perception!

I'm taking my Dad down to Lee Valley, today, so he can choose whatever Wood Carving Tools he likes -- it's a great Store. They have a huge selection of Hardware for your Cabinetry, too. I'm pretty sure the Founder of this Store is a Queen's University Grad, too, so we like to support it -- my Dad and I are both Queen's Grads.

Tip of the Day: If you want to quickly Update you Kitchen Cupboards (or a Set of Furniture for the Bedroom, or the Bathroom Cabinets...), consider Taking out the Old Hardware -- Pulls or Knobs on the Cabinetry -- and replacing it with some nice new Hardware. You'll be amazed at what a difference that makes. Make sure you measure the distance between the original holes so you can match up the new Handles, or just switch completely to knobs (sounds like a little useful dating advice, too -- ha,.ha,ha!).

These are the new pieces we had to hang up with the Screws and Plastic Anchors. They were both pretty heavy -- especially the Mirror, so we wanted them to be really secure.

These are in the Master Bathroom, so you can see the Walk-In Shower reflected in the Mirror.

Here's a little extra something for you -- it's from my very funny friend, Wayne, who happens to be a Major in the Military, which proves that you can hold a High Rank and still be funny! ha,ha,ha! Scroll down on the Link and Read the Description!

You know how I was saying I was going to try some different Affiliate Programs, to see which ones will work out best for me in my quest to make my Site Free to View, but still make a reasonable Profit? Well, this is an Ad for the Company where I get my Business Cards, but through a different Program, so we'll see if that works out better...

Frankly, I think everyone (and perhaps your Dog, if your Dog is a Mover and Shaker! ha,ha,ha!) could benefit from having their own Info on a Business Card. Whether you're in the Dating Game, Work for Someone Else, or Have Your Own Business, it's easier to 'schmooze' when you can quickly hand someone (lots of people, because you never know who someone knows who could change your life...) your Business Card. It's neat and tidy, and a great way to leave a lasting impression.

This is the new Affiliate Program I'm checking out -- I wonder if you still need to have a Website to Join these Programs -- I think the new thing is to have people join who might like to include an Ad in their e-mails, and generate a little Home Income from that... check it out -- you're on the computer (obviously...!), so it can't hurt! And if it pays for your next trip, all the better!

Cool -- look what I just found in my E-mail! iPod is waaaaay cool, and a great little gift for yourself (because you love you, and why shouldn't you have something fun to play with, hmmmmm?? Or get it for your Kids, then make them lend it to you...)!

Monday, January 12th, 2004. Hey, Baby! What's Up? Did you enjoy your Weekend? I hope you were able to fit a little fun in there -- that's always good, right?? We had our Birthday Party for my Dad, and that was great fun -- lots of deeeelicious Cake and great converation! Well, did you watch the People's Choice Awards, last night? I guessed it on quite a few categories, but I was surprised by the Shows that either weren't nominated or weren't chosen. The O.C., in particular -- I was sure they would have won a big Award, since it's such a great new show. Joan of Arcadia walked away with that Award, which is still good because that is a smart little Show. I started watching that with Cara, and it's really well done. It's good to watch certain Shows with your Teenagers -- it'll keep you connected and might even spark a whole new line of conversation!

Hey, have you ever been thrown a Curveball in Life? Really, who hasn't, I guess... but still, when one comes your way, and you're really not expecting it, it sucks, don't it?? Ah, well! I always have a bunch of Plans (yes, they do all include a set of House Plans, but that's a whole other story!) up my sleeve -- "If this happens, I'll do that; if that happens, I'll do this..." Just so I know that I'll have a direction from wherever I am. Now those crazy curveballs come at you so fast and from a direction you didn't expect it to come from, that can really throw you a loop... You know what? I'm thinking I'm just going to stop playing ball with the folks who throw those stooopid curveballs, and I think that might solve my problem!

My Glass Guy hasn't come over to Measure for the Steam Room Door, yet, so I'll have to give him another call, today. Must remember. Dwight's supposed to pick up the Double Head Shower Fixture for that room -- that'l be cool -- I can't wait to see that. It's a full life, all right!! ha,ha!

I have a little 'Pet Peeve', today -- outside of the curveball thing... you know what drives me up the wall? Professionals who call ME and don't say who they are, and acknowledge the Company they're with... ugh. Isn't it just a given that you should say who you are immediately in a phone conversation? And that's terrible for schmoozing, too, since I don't want to do business with anyone that stooopid... I figure if they can't master that one tiny little thing, they'll be a pain in the shirt to do business with. Now that doesn't always apply if I've known the person for years, but when I get a 'Cold Call' like that, the "Just try and figure out why I'm calling and who I might be...". Nobody wants to play '20 Questions' with some one whi is trying to sell them something...that's just craaaaazy -- especially on the phone... I think you get so used to e-mail where you can immediately see who it is and what they want -- it's so much more useful.

Tip of the Day: If you have a really heavy Picture or a Framed Mirror to hang up, and you're worried about the weight, use either a Screw or a Plastic Wall Anchor, then the Screw, and that will really hold the Picture up, no problem. And when you're hanging pictures up and you're not completely sure how high to hang them, go a little lower than you might ordinarily go. Have someone else stand back and have a look -- often it looks perfect when you're holding it, then you take a step back and see you need to move it by an inch or more...

This is the Master Bedroom -- see the Three Pictures above the Bed -- it's particularly important to hang pictures that could potentially fall on you -- that ain't good! Definitely use a plastic Wall Anchor for those ones!

When you're hanging Two, Three or More Pictures in a Group, you can stagger them, hang them in a Row, or Group them Evenly together. You have to be extra careful with the measurements when you're grouping them together. I got Dwight one of those fancy schmancy Laser Levels, but he hasn't taken it out of the package, yet (it was a Father's Day Gift...), but I would imagine it's very useful for this type of project if you actually did take it out of the package...! ha,ha!

Sunday, January 11th, 2004. Good Morning, Sunshine!! Are you ticking things off your 'To Do' List, or has the List completely gone out the window, like at our house? ha,ha,ha! Ah, well, we always have good intentions! At least we got the house all tidied up for a little Birthday Party we're having over here, today. My Parents are in Town for a Visit, and today is My Dad's Birthday, so it's the first time in 15 years since I've been able to celebrate his Birthday with him, so that's a great thing! I got an enormous cake (Black Forest Cake!) for my Dad, and a special little White Cake with Fruit and Cream for my Mum -- why not have one for each of them, huh? I don't get to see them very often!

Actually, the Bakery where we get our Cakes is unbelievable -- I'm not as much of a 'Cake girl' as you might think -- there are very few that I actually like, and since I am being 'watchful' about what I eat, I figure that it has to be really, really good to make a special treat worth it... so these cakes are incredibly delicious! I get them at The Dutch Pastry Boutique in Calgary -- they actually have Four Stores, here, and the one we go to is the Willow Park Village. If you're desperate for a fabulous cake, now, too, you can call them at 403-777-1224. I'll put them on my Business Page, too, for later!

We won't have any time during the day to get any work done around the house, but maybe we could at least measure the Doorway in the Steam Room -- all I got done, yesterday, was cleaning the Steam Room -- not nearly as exciting!

Tip of the Day: Well, since I've been cleaning all day, it's a Cleaning Tip -- Put a Container of Cleaning Product in every Bathroom in the house, so that whenever you happen to think about cleaning the Bathroom, the products you need are right at hand. This sounds sooo obvious, but I could never remember to buy so many bottles of the very same cleaner -- it seemed excessive whenever I was in the store, but it dawned on me that it would be far less expensive than hiring a Cleaning Service, and I'd be a lot more likely to actually clean the bathrooms more often... anyhooo, Dwight was very happy to see everything sparkling. There's nothing he likes better than an immaculate home! (Sometimes good, sometimes a leeettle bit annoyink -- not too bad for today, though, since we have a good reason for cleaning -- a Birthday Party!)

Here are a few pictures of the Stages of Tiling around the Fireplace, in case you want to give this a try!

Whenever you are Tiling any Project, you just need to find the Center and work your way out. That way, it'll be nice and even. And, yes, that's Dwight Tiling away -- this was one of the few 'no-swear' projects! There weren't any annoying 'glitches', and Dwight has a very cool Water Tile Cutter that cuts the Granite Tile 'like buddah' (like butter, for the three folks who aren't familiar with that dialect! ha,ha,ha!).

Saturday, January 10th, 2004. Hey, Baby-Cakes! Welcome to the Weekend!! Funny how the first Weekend after a big Holiday feels extra-nice, eh?? And Cara is almost at the end of her First Semester of High School (High School in Alberta goes from Grade Ten to Grade Twelve...), so she'll be on 'Vacation' (technically it's a time for Study!) again soon enough. We all love the idea of sleeping in during the Week -- it's like a special treat!

You know what I've been thinking about for a while, now, that I can't really understand? Why do we have kids starting School sooooo early? We never used to go to School that early -- what ever happened to the good ol' 9:00 - 4:00 routine? Is it purely to accomodate working Parents? If so, why on earth do they have to go to Work so early? So now our little kids (some not-so-little...) are getting up at 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning. Surely this isn't necessary. That can't be good for their development -- remember how much sleep you needed when you were a kid? I don't know that I ever saw a Sunrise until I was old enough to stay up all night (was there drinking involved?...who can remember?? ha,ha,ha!)!

When Cara was really little (from 2 to 5), I remember it was next to impossible to even find a Child Care Program that was open early enough for the Mum to drop their Child off and still get to their own job on time, so I have no clue how Parents do it now... it must be a logistical nightmare! Anyhoooo, I wonder what would happen if people started some sort of Grass Roots Movement to get the Schedule changed back to the 9:00 - 3:30 or 4:00 so our kids can sleep a bit more in the morning, not be so rushed, and then not have nearly so much time after school to get into whatever it is they are getting into... I think it might start with a Capital T, or an S....

Oh, and no good reason why everyone else has to go to work so early, either -- better yet, why not really stagger the hours so tht Rush Hour Traffic is cut down... did you ever get to go into work after 9:00am, and the road was completely clear, so you got there in no time at all (just like the amount of time it took you when you did a 'practice run' from your new House to your Work before you actually moved in?? ha,ha,ha!)? Reality -- it's a little annoyink, ain't it?? har, har!

Okay, so I really strayed from the whole Building Thing, today -- ah, c'est la vie! (My favorite Languages Teacher, John Zikopolous at Bayside High School just outside of Belleville, Ontario, Canada, who spoke God Knows how many languages... anyway, he used to pronounce that phrase 'Ah, sest la v-eye'! Hilarious! In case you don't speak French, it's really pronounced 'Ah, say la veee'. There, now you can go and impress your friends... you might want to give them a head start on the drinks, though, then they'll really laugh! ha,ha,ha!)

I think we're going to get the Header done on the Steam Shower Entry, today -- I need Dwight to cut it for me, then I'll get it painted. We can set some Tiling done while the Paint dries, then we can install the Door Surround -- just in time for the new Glass Door! Those are great Saturday Jobs!

> Hey, the People's Choice Awards are on this Sunday Night -- can you Bet on those? Here's a quick link if you want to check that out! Is it too early for Ellen to win an Award for her new Talk Show? And will Wayne Brady be up for an Award? Oprah and Dr. Phil are neck and neck for always being great, then the new Sharon Osbourne Show is very cute... very good Celebrity Guests, too... For Night-Time Shows, We love Sex and The City, The Sopranos (but I don't think they were on all last year, were they? I can't remember, now... I'm just looking forward to the Next Season!), Survivor (there should be a Reality Category!), Will & Grace, Malcolm in the Middle, The Simpsons (because it's consistently witty and it ought to be recognized...), and my favorite New Shows, The O.C.,Arrested Development and Two and a Half Men. Oh, and Bernie Mac -- he's hilarious! There's a lot of great TV on, these days -- remember when we had one or two shows to choose from, and one of them was 'One Day at a Time'?? I think that Show taught more than one generation of women that they could live on their own and be okay... that was a brand new concept to be openly discussed waaaay back then! Oh, the times they is a'changin'!! ha,ha!

Tip of the Day: If you have the Opportunity and the Time, before you Make a Final Offer on a House, do a 'Trial Run' during the Week when you really would be going to Work to test for the actual amount of time it will take to get there. If you absolutely love the House (or Condo, or anything else you want to purchase...), resolve to getting up a little earlier and just find a Radio Station you love to listen to, or get some great new CDs for the Commute! Oddly enough, sometimes the Comute can be the best part of the day, depending on how your day goes! ha,ha,ha! At the very least, go ahead and time a regular drive to where ever you want to go (I test for the nearest Town, Hospital, Shopping Area, Schools, etc. Everything that I go to is within a 7 - 10 minute drive from my house, which is pretty funny since we live in 'The Country', but we're actually just outside of Town! It took me way longer to get to the same destinations when I was in the City -- who'da thunk that??)

So here's the Lower Level Living Room Fireplace -- that's a long name, eh?? It took me a very long time to convince Dwight that it had to be done -- I don't know why he put it off so long... but once you get started into a job like that, it doesn't take all that long to complete, then it looks fabulous when you're done! Oh, and there's my favorite Ellen, too! I can see this from My Office, too, so it's all very pleasant to look out at! Now if I could just get Dwight to help me build a Mantel!!! ha,ha,ha! Baby Steps, I know, I know!

Friday, January 9th, 2004. Hello, Friend. Partner! Special Pal... so nice to see you! What a beautiful sky, this morning. I just realized, today, that you can see the Horizon to the East and to the West at the same time (well, not at the exact same time, because then you'd be some sort of fish....). That's pretty cool, here, because the Sunrise is so spectacular, but the colors seem to reflect onto the other horizon, over the Mountains, so when the Sunrise is really Red and Purple, it's like a light Pink and Mauve over the Mountains... gorgeous! We'll take all the color we can get at this time of year, too! That's what keeps us going until the Spring when everything turns Green, again!

Hey, did you catch Mark Burnett's new Show, The Apprentice, last night? That is a fantastic concept for a Show -- Mark Burnett is pure genius! And to pair up with Donald Trump -- "The Donald" -- man, that's truly remarkable! It's like a Whirlwind Course in Business, except it's really interesting and fun!! They pitted the 'girls against the guys' in a business competitoin, and it was very interesting how women and men act so differently in a Group Process. I could never understand why anyone would want to 'squabble' in a Business Meeting -- where would the idea come from that in the middle of a meeting a 'Squabble' should break out? That ain't good! And slightly counter-productive! ha,ha!

There are some Women who are just spectacular on the Show -- Dwight was drooling -- he loves a smart, beautiful business woman!! ha,ha,ha! And we got to watch 'The Short Man Syndrome' develop in front of our very eyes! Ironically enough, that's the only name I remember from the Men's Group -- Sam. I liked him at first, because he seemed to be very inventive and entrepreneurial, then he started standing up at the Board Room Table, which is incredibly annoying Board Room Behaviour, so I loved it when 'The Donald' told him to sit down! ha,ha,ha! And we all learned that Wimps and Crazies don't do nearly as well in Business as you might think...! har, har!

I'm just watching Ellen as I write this (man, I love My Office!!), and she has Sherri Sheppard on, this morning. She is absolutely hilarious! Think I'll write and see if Ellen can have Sherri Sheppard on as a regular guest! E-mail is great for creating a nice pathway for Viewers to interact with the Shows they really love -- it's an amazing bit of technology! Oh, yeah, if you're not sure who Sherri Sheppard is, she's the extrememly voluptuous (I loooove that word!!) one on Less Than Perfect, which is a very witty little Show that I think will really hit it big-time!

Tip of the Day: We were in a terrible Cold Snap, last week, and much of Canada is in another one this week, but tons of folks live in cold enough climates that a) they want to leave for a vacation (somewhere sunnier and hotter!), and b) when it gets too cold, it could burst their pipes (plumbing...!). This is a Tip from Dwight -- when you go on Vacation, especially when you're leaving behind some really cold weather, be sure to shut off your main Water Valve. That way, if (God Forbid) a Pipe Breaks when you're gone, your house won't be damaged by the Water.

Here's what the Main Water Valve will most likely look like, unless you're in a much older home, in which case it might be a Round Handle. What you want to do when you go on Vacation (or if there's a Water Line Problem at another time...) is to Turn Off the Main Water Valve. The Rule is 'If the Handle is In Line with the Pipe, It's Open, and if it's Perpendicular to the Pipe, it's Closed'.

Thursday, January 8th. Hey, HEY, Hey!! How you doin', Baaay-bee?? I hope everything is flowing along for you, preferably in the direction you want!! If not, now's as good a time as any to change your way, and see where you end up... change is good, and you can't really stop it, anyway, so might as well try to steer it a little bit, yourself!

I've got to remember to call our Glass Guy today to come and measure for the Glass Steam Room Door -- Dwight finished the last few Tiles in there, last night, so now I'll need to go in and Grout the whole Room in preparation for the Door to go in.

Oh, and Dwight got the Bar Sink hooked up, so now we have running water in the Bar! WooHoo! And I finally got a new Memory Disk for my Video Camera, so I can get you some really fresh new pictures! Hey, what's up with the vast Mark-Up on the Memory Cards? That must be about a zillion % Mark-Up! Ah, well, I love them, so I'll continue to buy them, and maybe some company will start to sell them for less -- if I ever find one, I'll be sure to tell you!

Hey, Ellen and her guest, Mandy Moore, were on Riding Lawn Mowers, today -- very funny. I learned how to use the Riding Lawn Mower this past Spring, because it turned out that Dwight was allergic to the Plants in the back garden, whatever they are, but they grew to about 3 feet high, so someone had to go out there and mow it, so eventually I tried it. The first time I went out, Dwight had the Thing set at 'Rabbit Speed' (I think it's designed for the Pre-Reader in the Family, but whatevah...! ha,ha!), which is apparently the fastest speed.

That did not go well at all, because I felt totaly out of control and I was sure I'd hit a rut (or some really big Weeds!) and roll right over, so I made Dwight shut it off and didn't go back out for another try until the Weeds got to about 4 feet high, and I thought I'd better try it again! So this time I set it at Turtle (the slowest rate possible and still able to mow the lawn!), and I was off and running ... or putting, depending on how you look at it! As I got used to the 'lay of the land', I was able to increase the speed of the Riding Lawn Mower, and now I can just jump right on and go like a rabbit!! ha,ha,ha! Not now, of course -- it's the middle of our crappy winter, but when Spring rolls around, again, watch out!!

Did you notice I changed things around a bit, today? Now the Daily Update can be at the Top of the Page, which will save you some 'scrolling time'! And it's the 'Eighth', so maybe you'd like to try a little bit of Numerology on your own -- the Number '8' is considered a very lucky number for Financial Success, especially in 'The East'. And hey, if it's good enough for millions of folks, it's good enough for us, so see if you can use an 8 in some financial thing and see what happens. Who knows what'll happen? Try it and see.

Tip of the Day: The next time you're having your Picture Taken, put your tongue behind your teeth if they happen to be open... not all the way through your teeth -- then you'll just look like a moron, and hanging right out will probably not be yer best look, either...depending on the reason for the picture...har, har! The next time you see a magazine cover, start taking note of this little Photography Trick -- and then go ahead and try it! I'm tempted to go with the last two ideas, of course, because that's just the way I am, and I love a good laugh, but the chances of someone actually taking my picture are slim to none, so it'll be a while before I even get to do that!

Here's Cara Mowing the Lawn -- we eventually all took turns out on the Riding Lawn Mower -- now how does Hank Hill steer and Drink Beer at the same time? I need some kind of 'Drink Holder'

And there's Dwight out on the Riding Lawn Mower. You can see there's a good reason we have a Riding Lawn Mower rather than a regular one -- there's a lot of Grass to cut! You have to wear Ear Muffs when you're mowing, because the noise is fairly substantial. There are Trees and Bushes to get around, and the occassional rut (just like life!! ha,ha,ha!), so you have to speed up and slow down accordingly. It's a lot of fun!

Wednesday, January 7th, 2004. Hi, Honey! Welcome 'Home'! And you look 'goigeous', too! Well, I finally ordered my new Business Cards -- it's hard when you think you might be moving at some time in the relatively near future to buy new things like that, since you're inclined not to put on any information specific to your current living arrangement, so the Business Cards are put on hold for ages. Well, I just got the 250 Package (it's Free, too -- I'll get you the Link!), but I couldn't resist the handy dandy Card Holder and some Sticky Address Labels -- I've been meaning to get those since we moved in here, so at least I'll have them before we move out! I never did get around to getting them in our last house, and we were there for five years!

That's it -- I'll have to break down and go shopping -- if I could put it off, I would, but we're starting to run out of stuff -- I really keep my Pantry stocked up, too, so that's definitely saying something! Ah, well. I'll have to brave the cold... Dwight put an extra heater in my Van, so when you plug it in, it pre-warms the vehicle, so that's a good thing. I'll have to make a List and see if I can stick to it even a wee bit! Hard to do at Costco!

Hey, did you hear that theory that 6 or more cups of coffee (or hopefully other caffeinated drinks, like my favorite Tea!!) per day can cut down the risk of developing Adult Onset Diabetes? I'm guessing that means without all the delicious Creams, Foams, Chocolate Shavings, etc., etc. that makes the coffee so tasty! I hope my little Tea habit will be beneficial in that area, too, since Diabetes is a concern for me, and the main reason I decided to lose the weight last year. (And keep it off this year -- and every year after that!)

Oh, I finished reading Ellen's new book, yesterday, and the end of it is soooo funny -- there's a whole 'bit' about your dog talking to you that is absolutely hysterical! If you haven't picked it up yet, I would happily recommend it for some fun, light reading!

Tip of the Day: It's not too late to take your Christmas Tree (a Real One!) down to your local 'Shredding Place'. The Town or City will generally use the Shredded Trees in Local Gardens, so that's a nice thing for your Tree to do, right? If you're not sure where to take your Tree, you can click on your Town and follow the links to the Waste Section -- in Calgary, Alberta, it's www.calgary.ca/waste . I'm pretty sure you have up until January 11th to take your Tree in for Recycling, here, and it's probably about the same everywhere else.

Since we're chatting about Recycling (and who isn't? ha,ha!), how about recycling your cool little Coke Bottles? Kids love these, and they're only available from time to time, so we started popping them in the Dishwasher (Top Shelf at an angle... same way for plastic bottles you can re-use for Water Bottles... then you'll be more likely to drink more Water, less Pop or Juice, and that's good for your health, too!).

Aidan loves pouring his juice through a funnel into the Coke Bottles, then he sits at the Kitchen Island with his drink in hand and feels very grown-up! It's pretty funy! Oh, and here's a little tip for your kids, and perhaps even for yourself... every time you give your child a drink of juice, pop, or anything sugary, give them a 'Water Chaser' -- it soon becomes a habit, and then they are rinsing the sugar out of their mouths, and drinking more water, too. See how it could be good for you, too?? When we were out at a party a while ago, Aidan asked for a 'Water Chaser' when he was given some Pop to drink -- hilarious!

And there's one of my Glass Cabinets -- I like the glasses in order and color-coded, partly because it looks nice, and partly because we have tons of space, so why not, right? ha,ha! (I'm not crazy...really!! The pigtails standing straight up -- that's just a fashion statement... har, har!)

Tuesday, January 6th, 2004. Hey, Babe!! S'up?? ha,ha! Don't forget to nod your head, like you're waaaaay cool! Oh those crazy kids! I'll have to keep this really short, today, because we have a familiy thing going on... that needs my attention, first.I'm trying a new Affiliate Program, today, and will be experimenting with different Programs until My Site makes a reasonable enough Profit for me to continue working on it -- it's incredibly time-consuming, which is okay for now, but if I do go back into the Regular Workforce, I'll really need to stream-line it. We'll see how it all works out... Pretty much everything that I do is Trial and Error (I look forward to the day when there are fewer 'Errors'!! ha,ha!), but I always believe something worthwhile is worth a shot!

Actually, now that I think of it, that's a pretty good Life Lesson -- there are tons of things that we do that never quite work out, but the stuff you can learn from those situations can be put to good use in your next project (or Marriage, depending on what we're talking about, here...ha,ha!) (Maybe your Relationship IS a Project -- I can't really see you, I'm just pretending about that, in case you thought that maybe those 'special powers' were real... nah... jus' a leeettle joke!! ha,ha!). Anyway, even if you have some kind of crazy idea you'd like to try, then you find you can't stop thinking about it, go ahead and give it a shot.

Well, yesterday I had a very weird day - I'm monitoring any type of Mood Swing so I can see if there's a pattern of any sort -- who knows -- I'm in my Forties, now, and I know anything can happen! Might as well keep track, so I can manage my life well -- a good little goal, no??

Now, here's the Upside to my crappy day, yesterday -- I was sitting at my Desk and I happened to pick up one of my new Calendars for '04, and it was Gardens of the World. I loooove Gardens -- can't get enough of them! And wouldn't you know it? I had just finished creating a New Travel Page for my Site, and had mentioned that I love Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, and the Azalea Gardens in Georgia -- well, the Calendar had a picture of the Callaway Gardens in Georgia, so I typed that into my Search Engine, thinking that some pictures of Flowers would cheer me up, and didn't I happen upon a fabulous Source for all sorts of Gardens! It's www.arboretum.org or www.gardenguides.com -- these Links will List all these great Gardens, including a couple of my all-time favorites -- Descanso Gardens in La Canada, California (pronounced 'La Cahnyadah'), and Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C., in Canada. I think they are two of the most beautiful Gardens in the World -- I think I need a 'Shot of Green', since our Landscape is varying shades of White and Grey -- thank God for the Ever-changing Sky out here!

Tip of the Day: Use Your Calendar for more than just Appointments and Birthdays -- develop a litle System that you can remember where you can keep track of how you're feeling Emotionally and Physically, especially if you're female -- we always have so many things going on that it's good to keep track -- that way, you can be more aware of anything that becomes cyclical -- like the Third Thursday of each month you are going to require vast amounts of delicious White Chocolate...oh, wait, that's me, and yesterday was Monday... ah, well, you get the drift! It's always easier to deal with any problem if you can determine the root cause of it, see if it repeats itself, then you can at least know how to recognize it when it rolls around again -- and you can buy your 'Chocolate Necessities' in advance! ha,ha,ha!

Here's another good idea for your Old Calendars -- the chances are really high that you chose your Calendars because the Pictures appealed to you -- Puppies, Flowers, Girls -- oh, that's Dwight's Calendar in his Office... (it's huuuugely inappropriate...). Anyhooo, you can get some really lovely Frames at Walmart, and Frame the Pictures from the Calendars.

Here's a little example of Four of the Framed Pictures I did from Last Years Calendars -- surprise -- they're almost all of Flowers or Garden Scenes, then some for Aidan's Den of Cute Puppies! Oh, and I have some particularly gorgoeus Frames (they were Dwight's and he had pictures of Wolves -- Robert Batemans, but still, those Wolves creeped me out...!), that I put pictures from One of Dwight's old Calendars (he has special ones made up for his Company of Banff and Alberta), and they are hanging in a group of Three in the Main Hallway. I like to Group Art together when it has a constant theme.

Oh, and you know how I was planning to make my own Frame for my new Poster of The Neptune Pool at Hearst's Castle in California? I picked up a 4' X 3' Piece of Board to use as a Back Board, but when Cara and I rolled out the Poster and it was about 8 Feet Long! Who would ever have guessed? I thought I had checked it out, but I must have opened it part of the way and made an assumption it was a regular sized Poster... ah, well. Back to the Hardware Store! I have a great Wall Space for a Piece that size, though -- there's a wall in the Lower Living Room that is looking for some really big art!!

Monday, January 1st, 2004. Good Morning, Sunshine! Always nice to see you! It's the First Day back to 'Normality' for most of us... Thank Goodness for that, because that's all the holiday I could take... it's like a little taste of what life would be like during 'The Retirement Years'. Yuck. Waaaaay too annoyink! Did you know there is a huge rise in the Divorce Rate for the Retirement Crowd? Yep, and it's because 'The Husband' is finally at home, and he thinks 'The Wife' (and incidentaly, if anyone is still out there referring to their spouse as 'The Wife', it's time to move into the year 2004 and go with 'My Wife', or go mad and call her by her First Name...) should continue doing all the things he thinks she's been doing around the house all those years... so then he's on Vacation, but he thinks she should continue to do her work...ugh. So I had a little taste of that. Must remember to keep working!! ha,ha,ha!

It's so nice to see Ellen and Wayne, again -- I missed their laughs in the morning, and they were only gone for Two Weeks! And thankfully we're back to normal TV -- hey, if you haven't caught Arrested Development or The O.C., they're two of the Best TV Shows on, these days -- hilarious!

My Mum and Dad are flying into Calgary, today -- it'll be nice to see them, again. Calgary is a funny City to live in (or Near, in my case...), because it's kind of in the middle of no-where, if you are from somewhere else, but once you live here, you feel very central to everything! It's a very weird thing! And when we're going to go on any 'Big' Vacation, it's very difficult to even consider going to Ontario, Canada (where My Parents live...), because there's such a tiny amount of time to go on vacation, we want to go somewhere that's pretty much Guaranteed to have Great Weather and Beautiful Beaches... so it's a great thing that they come out here!!

Oh, here's a Site I think you might like to check out -- from my new pal, Cory. It's http://www.new-trends-in-home-ideas.com -- Your source for Home Designs, Modular Homes, Custom Homes, Solar Homes, Home Cinema, Home Automation and More. It's always fun to find new Sites.

Tip of the Day: It's the Beginning of the Year, so it's a great time to get yourself all organized with your Financial Life. Start by getting a Notebook and a File Folder -- those nice ones at <Walmart.com> for, oh, about $5.00. This isn't a High End job -- just a functional way to keep track of your Bills and your Money. The more you know about where your money goes, when it goes there, and how much is left, the happier and healthier you'll be financially and in every other area of your life, too, since Money Worries suck, and can cause great pain all around, right? Now, Dwight doesn't know what Financial Pain feels like, because that boy has never had to worry about it, really -- he thinks he does, because he thinks about it a lot, but he's never had to worry about how he would buy food or any other necessity.

Every time you sit down to pay your Bills (if you do Phone or On-Line Banking, which is a lot less time-consuming...), take a minute to write down every Bill you pay, and the Date you Paid them. Write down your Balance on each of your Accounts (Savings, Checking, Separate Savings...) so that the amount of money you actually have is in your Mind.

Then, take all you Bills and File them according to the Company or by the Month -- I prefer to File by the Month, because I find it easier to retrieve information when I need it later. That's what your fancy schmancy File Box is for!

Oh, and if you want a really, really easy way to save Thousands of Dollars a Year, cut One to Three Shopping Trips out per Week or per Month, depending on how often you shop now -- it's pretty easy to do, but you have to make a conscious choice to go into the Shops. I started this last year, and I saved our family over $6,000. -- that's a lot of money (I cut out One Trip to Costco per Month, averaging about $500. per Trip... don't tell Dwight!!) And we're all fine -- there's always plenty of stuff in the House -- what happens is you get into the Store, see all the great stuff, and Buy, Buy, Buy. But you don't wanna be Broke, Broke, Broke, so go ahead and cut out some Shopping Trips! (Hey, why don't you stay home and crack open that Bottle of Gin at the Back of the Cupboard?! ha,ha,ha! You'll still have fun and it'll be waaaay cheaper! Don't do this to excess, either, though, or that might just cost you Half of Everything you own, if you're married!! ha,ha,ha!)

Okay, well that took me ages to get back to the Pictures!! I was side tracked by some very nice Sites I'll tell you about, tomorrow.

I finally took the Christmas Tree Down -- that's always hard to do, since it's soooo pretty! Now this Corner where I always put it looks really empty to me -- I'll need to go and get some enormous Tropical Plant or Tree to replace the Christmas Tree... wonder how I can do that in these crazy frigid temperatures?! It's Minus 30 Celsius, again, and your skin can freeze, so little Plants don't fare well in this weather, either... perhaps I should look at geting a gigantic Silk Plant... I'll let you know what I come up with -- those are Aidan's little Jungle Chairs -- he likes to 'camp' in the Living Room! ha,ha,ha!

Well, it's probably your first day back at Work in the New Year, and you might secretly want to have a wee look around to see what else is out there for you... here are some great Links for ou to check out -- think I'll have a wee look, myself!! ha,ha!

Sunday, December 4th, 2004. Hey, Baby-Cakes! Only one day left of the Holiday, and I can hardly wait for everyone to go back to Work and School!! Then I can get my own work done, again! Whenever everyone is at home, I have to run around and cater to them (well, I don't have to, but I do, for whatever reason...), so when they're back to their regular schedules, I'll get back to mine... Yipee! More work on my Site!

Dwight has been very busy working on the Bar, and has 90% of the Tile on the Countertop, and has the Bar Sink Installed. It looks great -- wouldn't you know it -- I just got my Computer to accept the photos from my Digital Camera (it stopped temporarily for some unknown and incredibly annoyink reason...), and my Memory Card ran out -- I've now taken about 1500 pictures of this House! And so I need a new Memory Card so I can take a whole lot more!

He's been working away at the Steam Room, too -- only a few Tiles left to do around the Window -- it's a Faux Glass Block Window -- lets the light in but absolutely nothing else -- and you can't see through it! Dwight's going to pick up a Double Headed Shower Fixture -- cool, eh? I've never seen it, but it sounds cool, so I'll get a picture of it for you, too!

Tip of the Day: Teach Your Children All About Money. It's soooo important, and so many of us grew up not knowing anything about how to manage money -- it was a Big Secret. Aidan goes around saying he's gonna be "Filthy Stinkin' Rich", so I asked him how you get rich, and he says, "You buy Really O'State!" . So True! But it's good to start your children young with a solid understanding of money -- how to spend it, how to save it, and how to be careful doing both. They should be very aware of the Value of Money, and Know How to Save for an important Item. Even very small children can learn this.

For Older Kids, make sure they have a Bank Account, and have them make at least one deposit a year. If they have a job of any sort, they could put a portion of their earned money into their Bank Account. The important thing is to get them used to operating with one amount, and saving another.

These are three shots of the Sunroom Deck, off the Master Bedroom. the Hot Tub is in this Deck, and the Deer stroll by in the Evening -- although I haven't seen them in this extreme cold -- I wonder where they go?

It's amazing how much the Sky Changes color, even in the course of an hour. Endlessly beautiful!

Thanks for coming in to see me -- my 'numbers' are really up, so you must have told your friends about my little Site -- Thank You!! I could use all the help I can get!! (Like everybody else... except for maybe Donald Trump, but that's a whole other story, I'm sure!! ha,ha,ha!)

Hey, have you seen Extra's new Mansions & Millionaires? What a great new Show -- check it out when you see it! You'll get lots of new ideas for your own homes!! ha,ha,ha!

Expert Satellite does TiVo, too -- We've had Satellite since we moved out to the Acreage, and now I can't imagine going back to Cable. It's waaay less expensive, and you gat a huge selection of Shows, including The Sopranos -- remember it starts again on my Birthday, March 7th!! Can't Wait!! Check them out -- they're a good company.U.S. only, though... I'll see if I can find one for other countries, too!

< Switch from cable and get up to a 5-Room DIRECTV system for Free including Free Installation, Shipping, DVD Player and 3 Months of HBO>

Saturday, January 3rd, 2004. Hi, Honey! You're Home!! It's so nice to see you, and might I say how lovely you look, today?! Positively stunning! And apparently I'm looking quite a bit better, too, now that my terrible, awful Hangover is gone! Ugh. Must add that to my New Years Resolutions -- 6. Don't get ludicrously Drunk... there, and I added one other one, which brings us to lucky Number 7. Learn How To Use My Cell Phone. I've only had it a mere two years, so I thought it was high time that I figured out, once and for all, how to use my Voice Mail. Well, it only took about an hour, much like learning how to manage my Website -- it's always a matter of making up my mind to learn something, then actually learning it. You can't teach a closed mind, or a fearful one (I was scared of anything technological, but not any more!! YaaHoo -- I'm Free!!).

Well, you know how I just put our House on the Market, right? I was thinking about what else we would Buy after this House is Sold -- we won't make any purchases at all until this House Sale is Final... anyway, I was looking at some Property in the Town closest to us, Okotoks, Alberta, and there was a house we drove past last week that was up for sale and very pretty. Dwight and I estimated it was about 10 years old, and it was in a very nice part of Town. Dwight happened to see it in the Paper, today, and it is listed at $599,000., which is not a bad price given the Home, but it reminded me of a 'Rule of Thumb' (even though I hate the origin of that phrase, it is useful sometimes...) that we always follow when we're choosing a Piece of Real Estate, that you might like to keep in mind when you are making a purchase.

Now, you know me, and I'm not one to stay anywhere forever and ever, so I really can't imagine buying a 'Final House' where I would live for the rest of my life -- I'm hoping that would be at least another 60 years, or so...! ha,ha,ha! Anyhooo, I would never buy a Property that I didn't firmly believe would go up in value by at least $50,000., hopefully $100,000. or more. Buying in really good neighborhoods, Buying New, Buying Substantial Homes or any House with Land will generally ensure that. And we tend to steer away from any home that may go up in value, but would require a lot of work (and money) to bring it to that level. If you were planning on making the Home your 'Dream House', I wouldn't worry about that so much -- just go with what you love.... or whatever you can afford, since any home is a dream home when it belongs to you, right??

You know one of the main reasons I felt it was necessary to develop My Website? I am very concerned about Young People (that makes me sound 'old', doesn't it? ha,ha,ha! You know what I mean buy 'Young'!!)getting themselves established in their own home (usually an Apartment or Condo...), and for Everyone Else who hasn't Purchased Their Own Home before Retirement. I think the best way to prepare for Retirement is to have your Own Home (ANY Home) bought and Paid for before you actually Retire. If I can make the whole Home Buying Idea easy enough to understand, then a whole lot more people will be all set for their Retirement. I used to be very worried about Older Women not having enough money to maintain themselves on (and Women at every stage in the Game...), but Men can also fall into the Renting Trap, and find themselves in a difficult way when the Retirement Years roll around. If you know someone who would benefit from the information on my Website, please send it along to them -- it's great to help lots of people!!

Tip of the Day: If you are in a Cold Climate, it's good to replace your Filters for the Furnace every Month or so. Dwight says the newer Furnaces are easy to change out the Filter -- they just Slide out from their little Resting Spot -- they are usually 16" X 25" or 20" X 25", and you can pull out the old one and read the Size. Filters can be purchased at pretty much any Hardware Store. They're about $2.00 a piece, or so, so it's an inexpensive way to keep your Furnace running efficiently.

This is the Sunroom off the Master Bedroom -- this is what it would look like if you just strolled in -- very pretty! I was reading the new Ellen Book the other day (not the Hangover Day!!ha,ha!), and I laughed myself silly. It's hilarious! The Sunroom is my favorite room for Reading.

Thanks for Swingin' in for a wee visit! It's always nice to see you! I love to get your Letters, so Drop me a line and let me know all about you (well, not ALL about you, that's a little weird, but a Fair Bit about you would be good!! ha,ha,ha!)

Oh, I just found this Site -- they have a great selection of all sorts of Home Products -- switching out your Lighting in a Renovation can really Update Your Home in a hurry, and it's easy to do. They have some seriously cool Lighting on this Site!

Friday, January 2nd, 2004. Hey, Baby!! Well, it's a good thing I wrote and posted my Daily Update for January 1st the night before -- ugh, I had the worst hangover all day, yesterday! That is the last time I drink a whole bottle of champagne... turns out, Dwight didn't like it, and after the first glass, it seemed better than the last...anyhoooo, I'm never doing that again!! And right in the middle of the morning (oh, around 12:30pm ...), it crossed my mind (slowly, and with far too much movement!) that I had to put the Meat on for the Steak Pie. So I had to drag my behind into the Kitchen to make the Steak Pie, then right bck to bed-- and that was my first day of the Brand New Year!! Ah, well, dinner was delicious! I'll need to post the Recipe for Steak Pie -- maybe tomorrow...

I'll keep today's Update short, since I'm posting this at night, too, and I'm pretty sure I'll be sleeping in tomorrow, too! Oh, and since I was 'Under the Weather' all day, of course that led me to think that "The Weather" would be a good name for a 'secret friend', that way you could say You're a Little Under "The Weather", and you could probably get away with that... anyway, I just happened to be thinking about that! ha,ha,ha! You have to keep yourself amused when you're too hungover to move!

Tip of the Day: Well, the obvious Tip is 'Don't Drink A Whole Bottle of Anything All By Yourself'! That's the useful sort of information you can find in here every day! And sometimes a Building Tip, too! ha,ha,ha!

Here's my Dining Room -- there's room for Three Dining Tables, if you had a really big Dinner Party. I like to put out Two Smaller Tables for Parties -- you can put all the Treats and Other 'Real' Food -- it makes for an Easy Party without crowding the Main Table.

Here's a Link to Target, and a really useful Tool Set for the House... everything you would typically need to maintain your place or fix any little thing!

January 1st, 2004!!! Happy, Happy New Year, Honey-Babe!! I hope you brought the New Year in 'In Style', or at least enjoyed yourself, whatever you were doing! And now on to a fresh new exciting Year!! Brand Spankin' New! What do you have planned? Did you make any New Years Resolutions?

You know what I thought would be fun to do this New Year? Write a List of 5 Great Things you did over the course of the Last Year, then Write a new List of 5 Things you would Like to Do (I think it would be okay to put a person's name on there, but probably a good idea to keep that under your hat, if you know what I mean....and I'm sure you do!! ha,ha,ha!), or Things you would like to Accomplish in this New Year!

Here are MY Lists, then you can make your own in your head or on paper -- it's good to put things in writing, though, because they seem much more substantial that way, then you're far motre likely to actually DO them...

1. Had Lasik Eye Surgery, and now I'll never have to wear my Glasses again -- it's one of the best things I've done in my whole life!

3. Learned how to Manage my Own Website, turned it around from getting 35 Hits in a Month to over 75,000 Hits Per Month -- not bad for a girl who just learned how to use the Computer and 'Get on the Internet' a little over 3 years ago!! (Before that I could never remember how to turn the Computer ON, and the 'Internet Highway' was some imaginary 'Freeway in the Sky' that I had absolutely no clue how to get on!! ha,ha!)

4. Lost 30 Pounds -- WooHoo!! I don't know where it went, and frankly, I never want to see it again!! ha,ha! Thanks to my little Apple Crumble 'Diet Plan', no eating after dinner, and my favorite Stepper and Hand Weights -- and Voila! It's all gone! Now it's easy to keep it off, because I looove the Apple Crumble so very much!

5. Went to California -- I really needed to make a trek down there to see if it's somewhere I would like to live, again. I wanted to make sure I wasn't living out a crazy fantasy -- that I would be able to visualize myself living there and living in Prosperity, which I can, and plan to do A.S.A.P.... I'll keep you posted on that one!! ha,ha!

And, of course, I am always a Great Mother and Wife, and a Good Little Worker. That's just a Given for me, though, so that doesn't really need to be included!

2. I Will Make Some Big Desicions about my Life, even though they are really difficult to make.

3. I Want to Return to the World of Work -- I miss actual Human Contact, and I miss Teaching.

4. I Want to Make My Website even Bigger, Increase my Traffic by at least 3 X -- if My Readers each Told a Handful of their Friends -- much like the Breck Shampoo Commercial from the 70's(!), I'd be able to Accomplish this, no bother! (hint, hint! ha,ha!) And I absolutely need to make my Site Financially Sound, so I can continue to devote my time to it... let me know if you have any ideas!!

Well, there you have it -- that was easier than having to come up with TEN Resolutions, right?? ha,ha!

Quick Tip: Today's Tip is a Parenting Tip, but it can be useful for the rest of your life, too -- yesterday Aidan took a big spill over his Toy Car that he was racing around the House, and he fell face first onto the Tiled Floor...needless to say, he hurt his mouth pretty badly, so I immediately scooped him up and rinsed out his mouth, then gave him a cuddle on the Couch. Now that crazy Dwight came over to Aidan and says, "Holy Crap!" I had to send Dwight away, because (and this is the Tip!) the best thing you can do when all hell breaks loose or anyone at all gets hurt is to Stay Calm and pretend that things are waaaay better than they might seem. There's no point in scaring the kid (or anyone else...), because that won't make them feel any better. That's why, when (God Forbid!) the Paramedics arrive and see someone with their leg barely hangin' on that 'Everything looks good...', because they need the person to be calm...

Also, the promise that something good will happen makes for a very fast healing process -- we told Aidan that we could take him to McDonalds to the Play Area when he was feeling better, and it was all I could do to keep him in my lap for a few more minutes, he was so anxious to get to the Play Area! You can promise anything you like -- it's always fun to look forward to any type of a Reward or Treat, ain't it?? ha,ha,ha!

Here's my Lovely Great Room -- it's very pretty and comfy. See all the cool Vaults in the Ceiling? The Vaults run North-South, and East-West. Oh, there's Tia's little Bed right beside the Big Settee -- it's huge, and she loves it!

I thought this was a nice 'Celebratory' Ad!! Perfect for all the 'Big Games on Today! (Oh, and if you're not into Football, every other Sport is on this Site, and you can bet on cool things, too, like the Grammy Awards, 'n Stuff!)

Wednesday, December 31st!!! Happy New Year, Baby!! Sweet Thing!! Are you all set for Midnight?? I wish we had something fabulous to do, but nope, not this year... perhaps I'll have something fantasic for next year -- one can always hope, right?? Dwight is an 'All or Nothing' guy, so if there isn't some huuuge party to go to, he wants to do nothing at all -- ugh. Ah, well, what are you gonna do? Aidan is still pretty little, so we'll stay home with him and Bring in the New Year together... Cara is lucky enough to go to spend the Evening with Friends, so that's good. We'll live vicariously through her!! ha,ha!

Back to Building -- Dwight brought home a Bar Sink, so we'll probably install that, today, then we can go ahead and Tile the Countertop for the Bar, then it'll just need a wee bit of Maple Trim, then the whole Bar will be done! WooHoo! And we have the new Trim in the Garage for the Door Surround for the Steam Room, so we can use the 'Time Off' to build that, too. It'll be good to get these little jobs out of the way.

Hey, what do you think about the Mad Cow incidents? Crazy. Not just 'Mad'!! What are Governments thinking to still allow Cattle and Other Animals to be fed with with Grains mixed with Animal Parts? Not only is this icky, it's absolutely been proven to be the root cause of this disease. Why on earth can't Governments take heed from other Countries who have already lived this nightmare, and only use Grains and such to feed the animals... that makes no sense to me.

Tip of the Day: Dwight was Downtown Calgary, today, fixing a Furnace in Business Building, and I wanted to know what a Home Owner would do if their Furnace Broke down in cridiculously cold weather like we're in right now. Luckily, the Business Building he was working in had a Boiler System, so the Building was safe enough from any damage from the cold, and we actually have Radiant Heat (Water Heat...) throughout our House, in addition to the Furnace, but the vast majority of Homes will have One Furnace.

Dwight gave me a very, veerrrry long answer, but what it boiled down to, so-to-speak, was that the first thing you ought to do is Immediately Call a Mechanical Contractor. Look in the Phone Book -- or if you're in Calgary, you can call Dwight!! He owns D.K.Mechanical...( I put a Contractor Locator Ad on the Daily Update the other day -- it's good to know someone before an emergency, so I'll go get that for you so you don't have to look...). Then go and have a good look at your Furnace. If it's relatively New, it'll have a Panel on the Front of the furnace with a Red Light. If it's a Solid Red Light, you should be okay, since this is a good sign of it operating properly.

If the Light is Flashing, it'll flash in a Pattern, and the Code for the Pattern will be right on the Panel, so at least you could tell your Repair Guy (or Gal!!) what the problem might be.

And if you have a Furnace that is more than Ten Years Old, it's wise to get it checked out annually to make sure it's fine -- if, God Forbid, you have a burnt out Heat Exchanger or a Hole in the Heat Exchanger, that can cause a release of Carbon Monoxide into the House, which is to be avoided at all costs... Also, sometimes the Gas Companies will issue information about certain Furnaces that have become known as hazards (old ones...), and your Contractor will recognize the names. You can write to me if you have a question about your Furnace, though, if you're not sure about it.

Well, here's the Bar, where we'll be working all day -- not the fun kind of 'work' you might think of doing 'At the Bar', and goodness knows there won't be any 'Pick Up Lines' at the Bar -- mostly, 'Can you pleeeease move out my way -- I'm tryin' to Tile over he'ah..." Think Tony Soprano! ha,ha,ha!

I Wish You All Love, Happiness, Peace, Prosperity and Great Health for The New Year -- then every single year after that, too!!! (Those are 'Party Exclamation Marks'!!)

Now, really, don't be pokin' your Computer with any coins -- you don't have to do everything you're told -- most things, but not everything! You can use this handy advice for the whole year, too! Useful information every day...sort of!! Thanks for Being My Readers! Cheers All Around! Ailsa!!

Tuesday, December 30th. Hey there, Good Lookin'! Only Two Days left of 2003 -- I hope it has been a good year for you, and I hope for an even bigger, better year in 2004, then each year after that even brighter than the last! And I don't mean that in a Global Warming kind of way, neither!! ha,ha,ha! So I've been wiling my morning away reading all about Quantum Physics -- that's just the type of Thinkin' Gal I am! ha,ha! I'm reading Deepak Chopra's 'The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire', which is a beautifully enlightening book. At the very beginning, he asks the Reader to think carefully about the incidents and feelings about those incidents over the past day, then the past 5 years, to see the connections. And he wonders what changes you want to make in your own life that made you pick up his book in the first place.

Oh, I loves me some Deepak Chopra!! ha,ha! I have The Seven Laws of Spiritual Success on my Favorite Books Page, because I've been reading his books for years, now, and have always been on a quest for (or 'to', or 'in') Enlightenment. He is an absolutely brilliant mind made into matter! Perhaps one day I will meet him -- you never know!

The book I'm reading this morning puts me in mind of how this beautiful House ever came into being, though. You know how I designed this house, right? Well, I 'lived' in the House in my mind for a long time before we actually built it. I wanted to see how comfortable it would be, and if there were any design flaws I could work out before the Building Process began. I always write or Draw things out as they come to me, so it was really a matter of visualizing the best house plan for this Lot, drawing it, experiencing it in my mind, then coming out to the Land to draw it on the dirt, then making any design changes from that level. What a great way to Build a House!

The day we came out here to 'Draw the House on the Land', I was not happy with the configuration of the Laundry Room and the Walk-In Pantry, but when I drew it on the Ground with the back of my boot, it became very clear to me, so I popped into the Van to sketch it out. The area needed to 'flow' nicely from the Garage into the Pantry, then into the Kitchen, so that's what I drew.

So here's really the point -- whatever Project you have -- be it a life project, a house, a renovation, a new job or place to live, try it on for size in your mind, first. It's free, easy, and might save you a lot of heart-ache or bother down the road. We can fore-see the vast number of things that will happen to us, especially if you take off those annoyink Blinders (they're waaaaaaay out of style for 2004, anyway! ha,ha,ha!) and look at any situation with clarity.

Keep paper of any sort ready for you to jot down your ideas quickly before they're lost to oblivion -- that happens all the time, but a fleeting idea might spark a whole new life for you -- you never know (or maybe you do!!). That crazy Deepak -- look what an affect he's having on me, and I'm only a quarter of the way through the Book!!

I am getting the nicest letters from My Readers (that's You!!), and what a lovely, intelligent Bunch you all are! I really do hope that my Site becomes Financially Successful over the next Year, but in the mean-time, I still believe it provides a valuable service that doesn't exist elsewhere -- not for Free, anyway, and you know how I love Free Stuff! yuff, yuff!

Tip of the Day: I just discovered this, and it seems to be very effective -- I want to try it in a Face Mask, mixed with Honey, too, but I'll need to try it before I recommend it, of course! Anyhooooo, the Tip is to Break a Capsule of Flax Seed Oil and put it on any Dry or Inflamed Skin -- works like a charm! It's painfully cold up here, right now (Minus 18 Degrees Celsius, but with the Wind Chill, it feels like Minus 30 Degrees... yuck!). When the temperature is this cold, it really dries your skin out, and I seem to be very suseptble to it, perhaps because I don't really want to live in the Cold!! It's that crazy 'Mind-Matter Connection', again! ha,ha! Or maybe it's just absolutely freezing!

Here's my Kitchen -- I had a terrible mishap, yesterday, involving a Glass Pot and my Flat Top Stove -- not a good combination. I put on a pot of Chicken Noodle Soup for the Kids, and left it to go something else, since I rarely do only one thing at a time, like most Mums... anyway, when I came back through to the Kitchen it was full of Smoke. The bottom of the Glass Pot had burnt -- I grabbved the pot and put it out on the BBQ -- the Pot was sooo hot that it burned a circle into the Wooden Section of Dwight's BBQ. Hmmmm... not good at all. Very frightening.

I threw out that stupid Glass Pot (I never liked it anyway -- it was a gift from someone I didn't care for...), opened all the Windows and Doors, then I put on a Batch of Apple Cider and Cinnamon to replace the Smoke smell before Dwight got home... And then I went to see exactly where the Smoke Alarms are -- everything is 'To Code', of course, but sometimes it's even better to just take a practical approach to where Smoke Alarms should go. So when Dwightie got home, I told him what happened and showed him where I want to put a new Smoke Alarm -- right under the Cabinets beside the Stove. What with the Height of our Ceilings, it would have taken so long for the smoke to get up to the Smoke Alarm that there might have been an actual fire.

Oh, and I put an Open Box of Baking Soda in the Spice Cupboard beside the Stove. Baking Soda can be poured on a Flame to put it out safely. And I realized that I haven't unpacked the Little Fire Extinguisher from the Garage, yet, so I'll have to go and get that right away. Better Safe than Sorry, right??

Thanks for swinging by for a wee visit! Jot down those great ideas -- the crazy ones, too -- sometimes they're the best ones! See you tomorrow!

Well, all the Huuuuge Football Games will be on soon enough, so if you think you know how it's all gonna 'go down', here's your big opportunity to make a Bet on Your Predictions!

Monday, December 29th. Hello, Love! I actually used to know a really sweet wee woman who called everyone 'Lover' -- it was soooo funny, especially coming out of her mouth! Some words are only meant for (hopefully...) one other person, rather than, say, the Grocery Store Clerk, but hey, I don't know all of everyone's secrets, and you never know...! ha,ha,ha!

Wow, we're just watching Mansions & Millionaires (a new Show Dwight found...), and aside from the fabulous Scenery and places, they just said that the 2004 Olympics will be held in Athens. Now why wouldn't Ben Johnson be able to Run there? I wonder why he doesn't ditch Canada and run for Jamaica? That never made any sense to me... I wonder if there's some sort of rule about representing more than one Country during a Lifetime in the same sport, or something? And if everything is 'clean', and I'm sure you know what I mean, what on earth would the problem be?? I wish they'd give him a break and let him show what he can do. If he can still run as fast as before, why not let him compete, and if not, he'd be weeded out, anyway, right? If only these things were not so slanted... Really, I should call him...

Well, Dwight and I came to a Compromise on the Surround for the Steam Room Door -- We went down to Totem, our favorite Hardware and Lumber Store (yes, we have a favorite because we're there all the time and buy a lot of Building Products...) and found a nice pice of Crown Moulding for the Top Piece of the Door, then we'll use the same Trim that's on the rest of the Doors in the House for each Side -- it'll look really nice. So Dwight will cut the Lumber, I'll Paint it a nice Semi-Gloss White, then we'll install it. Easy schmeasy!! ha,ha! And tomorrow I can call our Glass Guy to get him to come and measure for the Glass Shower Door. The Steam Room will be done before we know it! WooHoo!

Tip of the Day: I just discovered a new way to make your Granite or Marble Countertops sparkle! I'm soooo excited -- I just tried it, and I knew it would work! That Dwight said it was a stooopid idea, as he always says until it works, then he claims the idea as his very own -- men -- you can't schmack them!! ha,ha,ha! So I got Dwight to bring home his fancy Buffer for Buffing his Boat (he kept the Buffer at his Dad's, for some unknown reason... probably because he's sad that he had to sell his fancy schmancy 21' Jet Boat right before we had Aidan -- there was noooo way I was getting back in that Boat when I was pregnant or after I had the baby, so we always joke that he traded in his boat for a Boy -- Aidan!!).

So here's the Tip -- Wash your Granite or Marble Countertops down with a mixture of Dish Soap and Hot Water, then Buff out the Countertops with the Electric Buffer. It's amazing! The Buffer comes with a little cloth cover that you can just toss in the Laundry for the next time. Now we have Four meanings for 'Get a Buff'!! Yuff, yuff!

Here's my Wonderful Island -- I love it! It's huuuuuge! (That's the sort of thing everyone wants to either say or hear, right?? ha,ha,ha!) Granite is already a very nice product to work with, but when you use the Electric Buffer to Shine it, it's like a mirror!

The Island is about 10' X 5', so lots of room for cooking and leaning, not to mention drinking at the Bar!

Just in case you haven't booked anything for New Years, or you want to see if you can get in to see a Game!!

Sunday, December 28th. Hey, Honey-Babe! Three Days before the New Year -- can you believe that's another year down?? Where does the time go? Why, it seems like just yesterday I was 21 ... then 31, now I'm almost 41! Must be sure to make the next ten years really count, right?? It's sooo easy to let time pass and not make too many changes, but changes are what move us forward, so I'm very fond of them, in general. Even when bad things happen (and they certainly have for me...), everything creates Change, and if you welcome it with an Open Heart and Mind, you never know where you'll end up.

Ten years ago, it really looked like I'd be in some sort of a Big White Mansion in Jamaica, since that's what Ben wanted to build -- as far as I know, he did go ahead and build that -- I should call him to see for sure. And here I am in a great big house in Alberta -- I really didn't see that one coming, but it's great! Now, where on earth will I be in another Ten Years?? I hope I have a nice Ocean View!! You never know!

So, have you started thinking about your New Years Resolutions, yet? We used to have to sit at the table for ages to come up with 10 Resolutions when we were kids -- man, those were some of the longest hours of my life! I could never think of anything! Now, of course, I love to evaluate and re-evaluate my Life, to see where I've been and where I want to go next. Generally, I do this at New Years, My Birthday (March 7th...), and every September, since that's the beginning of a new School Year. And then often I do that when I'm Painting Trim in the Garage... anyway, when I think of my New Years Resolutions, I'll let you know... and you can write and tell me what yours are -- maybe we can make some sort of 'Group List'...or not -- that does sound a little weird! ha,ha,ha!

The Steam Room looks fabulous, and now we have to make a decision about the Surround for the Doorway. Dwight wanted to Tile around it, but I'm thinking it would look better with a Wooden Surround similar to a Mantel Piece, then we could mimick the look on the Lower Fireplace with the same sort of Mantel ... I drew a picture to help convince Dwight that it's a good idea, and I think he might go for it! YaaHoo! Now we have to go buy some more Lumber! As always!!

Tip of the Day: Well, a couple of 'oldies but goodies' (sounds like some people I know...ha,ha,ha!), but they're very relevant to the last few of days around here! One is to always keep a big bottle of Rubbing Alcohol on your Computer Desk (a big bottle of Gin is probably a good idea, too ...) and a Box of Paper Hankies (Kleenex, or whatever it is you like to call them -- hopefully not "Darling" ha,ha,ha,ha!). Then you can easily wipe down the Keyboard before you turn it on or after you're done if anyone in the house has a Cold ... or you can quickly wipe your fingers on a Hankie with a wee bit of Alcohol.

The worst thing is when someone you like is using your Computer, they sneeze, then they stay at the computer -- yuuuuck! Now if that were a Family Member or a Spouse (or Both!!), you would just yell at them to get a clue, but with someone you like, you have to be ever so delicate and wait until they leave to scour the Computer Room!

Do these Tips never end?? The second quickie one is to keep the Scotch Brite Scouring Pads handy for 'Wall Mishaps' ... that crazy wee Aidan drew on the wall the other day, and Thank God I had the Scotch Brite Pads under the sink, or Dwight would have freaked. Whoever that stooopid ad person was who came up with the idea to have the Mum smile when the kid draws on the walls needs a big skelp (Scottish for 'Smack' -- and that has nothing to do with cocaine, neither...! ha,ha!)... Just get the Sponge Pad wet with really hot water (wring it out, of course), and a wee drop of Squeezie (Scottish for Liquid Dish Soap -- sounds like more fun to say, though, right??), then make your way to the graffiti! Rub very gently, first with the Sponge Side, then with the Rough Side, using strokes and circles, and the mark will come right off. And then you will be free to go and find the little trouble-maker, and make them guarantee you it will never, ever happen again. For the fifth time... Kids... you can't sell them ... you're not even supposed to rent them out! Must teach him to be better!

I'm doing the Daily Update Page Backwards, today -- I found the Pictures first to match the Ad! You know how I was telling you that the view is always changing? It's cool -- it's a constant source of entertainment for me! I rarely close the Curtains because (1), there's no one around to peak in, and if anyone did, they have a faceful of Angry Tia!!, and (2), I don't want to miss out on one view! That's Country Living, though -- it's very differrent from living in the City.

So that's Two beautiful Sunsets and one gorgeous Sunrise. Nice, huh? The Mountains are very 'Crisp', during the Winter Months when the Mountains are covered in Snow. Hey, I just remembered -- I used to get a great View of Snow Covered Mountains on my way to Work when I lived in Los Angeles -- Maybe I could live elsewhere and still see the Mountains every day! Must look into that!! ha,ha,ha!

Did you get Cold Hard Cash for the Holidays and now you need to Spend it? ha,ha! You know we live very, very close to the Rocky Mountains, so I really liked this Ad. Cool Store -- check it out!

Saturday, December 28th. Good Morning, Sunshine! You brighten up my day! (Now you can hum the rest of the song to yourself!!) But you really do make my days nicer, since it let's me connect with a whole lot of people from the comfort of my lovely Office! Isn't that fun?? Hey, you'll never believe this -- guess what Dwightie decided to do all by himself (no pushing and prodding with a stick from me!! ha,ha!)? That's right, he finished Tiling the Steam Room all by himself! WooHoo! Now we just need to install the Steam Unit and the Shower Fixtures and we're all set... oh, and I'll need to give our Glass Guy a shout and have him come over to Measure for the Giant Glass Door... you need a really, really thick Glass Door for a Steam Room. I would imagine you could put on a regular Door, perhaps sealed or Tiled on the Inside, but Glass is much nicer and easier to manage, what with the Steam 'n all...

Has anybody taken down their Christmas Tree, yet? You can tell a fair bit about people by the amount of time they leave their Tree up...thaccording to my own little theory, the longer the Tree Stays Up, the More Relaxed and Easy-Going the Person is. What do you think? Of course, if you have a real tree, and you happened to put it up really early because you couldn't wait for Christmas (me, except for the Real Tree bit!!), then I suppose the Tree will have taken itself down by now, one clump of needles at a time! Then that theory will fall into the 'useless' category, but I'll keep it for myself because it makes me feel better about my ever-so-slight procrastination problem! ha,ha,ha!

I wish I'd had more time to read, yesterday. The funny thing about one person doing an actual job around the house is that the other person has to, by definition, work on something else, just to make the whole thing fair. So I cleaned and cleaned... that seemed like a fair 'trade-off'! So tomorrow I would like to have a look at the Mirrored Doors for the Laundry Room -- that's one of those wee jobs we've been putting off for ages. Dwight says he needs a special Drill Bit to Drill into the Tiled Floor before we can Install the Sliding Mirrored Doors, so we'll see if he has it in his Truck... Or maybe we can get the Grouting done in the Sunroom -- oh, to have 3 days 'off'!!

Tip of the Day: Well, today's Tip is 'Beauty Related', because even a Construction Girl likes to look good, right? ha,ha,ha! I heard a wee snippet on TV last week about some Girls who were paying up to $1500. for some sort of a Banana Treatment for their Hair, so I told Dwight not to throw out an old banana I was saving so I could try a treatment of my own, and as luck would have it, he didn't! Miracle of Miracles. So I tried the Banana Treatment on my Hair and it was fabulous! And only a teensy fraction of the cost -- oh, about 12 cents for the oldish banana, then about .002 cents for the Oil, so all in all, a pretty cheap Hair Treatment! ha,ha,ha!

So here's how to make your hair all lovely and shiney (is that how you spell 'Shiney'?? Who knows??):

Mash One Half of a Banana. It will be your very own special coice what you do with the other half... :)

Add about 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil or Canola Oil, or whatever kind of Oil you happen to have (don't use any type of Oil you might require a 'pipe' in order to smoke it, though -- that would make it somewhat illegal, although not necessarily in Canada or Holland, but no one really understands the Laws to determine this... but it would definitely make your Hair Treatment a whole lot more than 12.002 cents per treatment! ha,ha,ha!).

Put this stuff in your Hair. It's fun! And a little messy, so maybe don't tell anyone you're doing this! I have Long Hair, so I only did the part after my scalp, since it did seem a bit icky, which is a scientific term for 'yucky'. Those crazy scientists -- they have a different word for everything, just like the French. And the British! har, har! Anyway, you put the stuff in yo' hair, then wrap in in Cling Wrap or whatever you call your 'Plastic Wrap', then wrap the whole thing in a Towel.

Go and find something relatively fun to do (not tooooo much fun, or the Towel and Cling Wrap will fall right off, and then there'll be banana all over the place, and that probably won't end well, so maybe just play around on the computer, be kind and sign up for some of my Advertisers on my Site (oooooh, I hope you choose this option!!), Read a Book, or something equally distracting from the Banana in your hair! ha,ha,ha!

Be sure to rinse it out really well, then Shampoo and Condition with your Regular Conditioner. Now your hair will be all lovely and Shiney. Shinnie. Shinie. Shimmey... no, just thought I'd see if you'd do it! ha,ha,ha,ha!

Okay, better 'Wrap this Up'! yuff, yuff. Gotta tie it all in, right?? Don't forget to rinse all the Banana out of your Shower before you get out, or that'll just end up another cleaning job for later!

Remember when I was telling you about the One Piece of Artwork that influenced a huge amount of the Decorating? Well, here it is -- it was in with the couple of Hundred shots I was just able to transfer into my computer from my Video Camera, a few days ago.

It's a Stevenson Print in an Old Frame that Dwight had a Spitfire in (that had to go -- I just couldn't look at that one more minute, so the Spitfire Picture is hidden away to find a new home at Dwight's Office, where he is free to put as many pictures of Boats and Planes as he likes!). The Colors are Varying Shades of Greens and Browns. You can see the Blues are reflected in the Windows and in some of the Silver Items. Ironically, we didn't realize that we had been so 'True to the Picture' until after we moved in and then we could see every color right there in front of us! Funny! A very good Decorating Tip, though, since you'll know for sure that you already love the colors before you fill your home with them!

P.S. I woke up, this morning, with a really sore throat, so I immediately made my Onion Drink -- that stuff is a miracle in a cup! I feel better, already, and I've only had one cup. Dwight hates the smell of the Onion Juice 'simmering', so I quickly took out the Onion Juice (I strain it into a giant Bowl with an equally giant sieve!), then covered the container with plastic wrap and popped it in the fridge. Luckily, I was already planning to make Turkey Soup, today, so I replaced the onions into the Big Soup Pot and added all the 'Turkey Parts' -- you know the parts(!), and some spices, so he'll never be any the wiser! ha,ha! And I'll get better!

I'm gonna have to go make a whole new page for the Onion, Honey 'N Lemon Drink, so you won't hurt your wrist scrolling down to find it! ha,ha! I'll get right on that!

It's always good to have a Contractor up your sleeve, so-to-speak! And it's much better to have someone in mind before an Emergency... this is a great National Service so you can find out who is available in your own Neighborhood. Plus, it's great to have a List of Contractors for the really Big Jobs, like a Major Reno or a House Build, right??

Well, I already had this Ad, then I chose another one, but I can't figure out where else to put this, so I'll just leave it for today, then move it later...)

Friday, December 26th! Happy Boxing Day, Gorgeous! Do you 'Celebrate' That?? Really, I don't have a clue who came up with that one -- 'Hey, let's have fun boxing everything up and looking like we never did have any sort of celebration!' That sounds like the handiwork of a clean freak, don't it?? ha,ha,ha! Wonder if Dwight's Ancestors had anything to do with it, since that's just the sort of thing they would like!

That crazy Dwight wanted the kids to start cleaning up when they were only half-way through their Christmas Stockings -- I think it's great to have Wrapping Paper all over the Living Room while you're opening the Presents -- it's more festive that way... ah, well. We all tidied it up after everything was opened and before our Guests arrived, so all is well!

Thank God Dwight was true to his word at the Christmas Eve Party we went to, and he was the Designated Driver, so I had a GREAT Time!! We have the bestest, funniestest Friends, ever!! Lots and Lots of Fun! And so I 'tied one on', then had to come home and wrap more presents, so I had to do a little 'Plastered Wrapping' -- let me tell you, it's a lot faster, given that you don't care nearly so much how neat it is... I was telling myself that those little 'Elves' probably ain't that neat, either... surprising what you think about when your mind is in an 'altered state'! ha,ha!

You know how we have the Double Dishwashers, right? Well, they are a blessing, indeed, when there's a lot going on, or whenever you have guests (or dinner, in general!!). I'll need to figure out how we can possibly reconfigure any new Kitchen so I can always have the luxury of the Two Dishwashers. I'm thinking you could build out an Island to incorporate another Dishwasher, or add onto the End of a Countertop... it's funny how you can get so accustomed to something that seemed a little extravagant before!

Oh, hey! I did get two copies of Ellen's New Book, and it's hilarious! I started reading it in my Sunroom, yesterday, along with my zillions of Chocolates...but here's the funny thing -- since I've changed my whole diet and have really cut back on chocolate, I can hardly eat much f it -- a few dozen pieces and that's it! ha,ha,ha,ha,ha! Okay, that's just for my own amusement! But seriously, I did enjoy the flavors, but didn't want very much, at all... and tomorrow I can't wait to have my Apple Crumble, again. See how you can affect a change in your own life? Fun, easy, and tasty!

Tip of the Day: If this is the year where you're going to Buy Your Own Home, make a concerted effort to start watching every Dollar to see exactly where it goes (it can be pretty surprising where our money goes!! Out late at night without us...wandering the Streets doing God-Knows-What...), and then start a Brand New Account where your 'House Money' will go. You can't touch it -- and you need to be vigilant in getting some money in there at least once a month ... sounds like something else, but that's a whole other story, and, frankly, a pretty short one! ha,ha,ha,ha! No, I haven't been drinking... in the last hour! har, har!

So there's the Double Dishwashers that I looove, and then there's Aidan and Tia in my Sunroom where I love to read, and the entrance into the Sunroom through the Master Bedroom. Nice, huh??

Tia was sooo cute, yesterday, because she was wearing her brand new Sweater -- she's looking more and more like me every day! Or maybe I'm looking more like her! Either way, it's all good!

Wednesday, December 24th!! Happy Christmas Eve! Can you believe it's here, already?? And I'm just about finished my Shopping! Man, every time you think you're done, you remember there's someone unbeliveably important that you've missed, then you're off on another 'Gift Hunt', the only kind of hunting I like!

Every time I go into Aidan's Room, I find more Presents hidden in there -- he's having a tough time leaving the Gifts under the Tree, this year! Christmas is a tricky concept for the 4 and under crowd! ha,ha,ha! I had to wash his hair, yesterday (it's a huuuge procedure... and he screams bloody murder through the entire process, and of course I had the windows open and there are work crews outside a couple of Lots over where they're building a new house...), and Aidan's main concern is that his hair will change color! He spends a tremendous amount of time shouting, "My hair! My beautiful hair!". Poor little man -- because I color my hair (I'm Blonde by Choice!), Aidan thinks that his hair will most definitely change color, too...

You know what I wish all on-line Stores would do? I would love to see them all set up so you could make a purchase on-line, then have your Friends or Family go and pick thir Gifts up at a location really close to them. Forget the Shipping. Circuit City does this -- why can't all the Stores do it? Of course, I guess they'd need some sort of Giant Holding area to support this feat, so perhaps that's why... but there could be a special place over by the Customer Service Department, couldn't there? Must talk to someone about that for Next Year!

Dwight is watching Christmas Vacation, again, and they're just at the bit where the Griswald's are trying to Light their Christmas Lights -- you know what would be really cool? Christmas Lights that are Solar Powered, just like the little Patio Lights that use Solar Energy... wouldn't that be a great idea? Maybe someone can get busy working on that for Next Christmas! You can buy the Low Energy Bulbs, and they're good, but I'm thinking that if the Lights were completely run on Solar Energy, they could go on Trees that are too far away from the House to run a cord out to... plus they would save a ton of energy, and with the Power Outages in the Summer, that would be a step in the right direction. I'm surprised, really, that there aren't any Power Outages at this time of year, given the Energy Use over the Holiday Season.

Tip of the Day: If you're Heading out to a Holiday Party, or over to Someone Else's House for Christmas Dinner, be sure to choose a Designated Driver, first. I am endlessly annoyed with Dwight if HE is the Designated Driver and he has one, anyway...one is okay if you'll be there for a while, but that's it...Coke or Pepsi after that! We want to have fun and stay safe, right?? Party On, Dudes!! ha,ha,ha!

Here's my sweet little Tia with my Christmas Tree Lights! I always put them all over the floor to see what I have available and what still works... and Tia just likes to hang about where ever I am -- doesn't my Office look lovely? I adore it!

That's my Exercise Equipment behind the Settees -- it fits very nicely in there, and is much more convenient than having it in the Exercise Room, which is now the much more useful 'Gift Wrapping Room'! ha,ha,ha!

Drugstore.com has over 18,000 Cool Products to choose from -- it's true! I'm guessing you might just be a 'Last Minuter' like me, so this oughtta help! That, and you can't go wrong with Amazon!

Tuesday, December 23rd! Hello Honey-Pie! Sugar Cookie! My little Fruitcake -- wait a minute... that ain't right! Scratch the Fruitcake -- in general -- no more icky Fruitcake! ha,ha,ha! See how some names work and others have the slightest connotation that your new-found friend might be nuts? ha,ha,ha,ha! When Aidan was really little, he used to always say,"Bait a minute...", so now we all say it for fun! His new thing is late at night, he wants all the lights out and everything really quiet -- "How's a guy to get a little shut-eye around here with all they'se lights on?!" It's the little things that keep me amused!

Hey, guess what? I figured out how to fix my VideowaveIII, so I can finally get you some Brand New Pictures!! YaaHooo! (That's Canadian for 'WooHoo', in case you're wondering! ha,ha,ha!) I'm sooo excited -- can you tell? Hey, do you know someone who never has any detectable reaction to anything? Don't you hate giving them presents, or any of your time at all? No? You love them?? You can't ignore your In-Laws or your Spouse will be mad?? ha,ha,ha,ha! As you might imagine, I have a big reaction to everything -- life is just waaaaaay more fun that way! We'll call the other ones the 'Dullies' -- they won't know, and even if they do, we'll never know!

Steve Martin is on The View, this morning -- I'm a major Steve Martin Fan -- I got all of his Albums (yes -- the pre-CD Days!) when I was a teenager and I used to recite them all off by heart ... along with every single Monty Python Skit! Now that's a good foundation for a life full of laughter, no?? He's sooooo funny -- I love his books, too -- in fact, I have one I keep on my Desk for when my computer is painfully slow 'posting' something to my Site... it's Steve Martin's Pure Drivel. Very funny! Ooooh, they just said that Steve Martin has a new book out, The Pleasure of My Company -- now I must get that, too! I'm a very good little consumer! I want to do what I can to keep the economy going! ha,ha,ha!

You know what I'm looking forward to most on Christmas Day -- other than watching my lovely children open their Gifts?? I can't wait to start reading my new Ellen Degeneres Book! And that Tower of Chocolates looks fabulous! Must remember to pick up some more Lemon Tea, since it's my new favorite flavah'! Tea is a great Anti-Oxidant, so it's the perfect treat! Especially the flavored Teas -- they're really delicious.

I have a little theory about Tea versus Coffee for Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance... well, for one thing, I almost invariably add Bailey's Irish Cream to my Coffee (because it tastes soooo good!! ha,ha), but when ever I have a cup of Coffee, not only do I add Sugar and Cream, it seems wrong to have a Coffee without also having a Treat... so that really adds up in terms of Fat and Carbohydrates.

Now with Tea, which I drink from the moment I get up until I go to Bed, you just drink it for it's own flavor, and I only put a wee bit of Low-Fat Milk in it. It's a clean taste rather than a creamy taste... not that I don't have the occasional Treat with my Tea, but it is occasional, not a given, and it's usually the Apple Crumble, which is tasty and good for you! I made up an enormous Batch on Sunday, so I'm going to bring it to my Friends so they can try it, too. That and some equally tasty Wine! ha,ha,ha!

Tip of the Day: So if you are trying to lose weight, or you're looking for an easy path to weight maintenance, I would try drinking more Tea, less Coffee. I think there's something to drinking Hot Liquid, too, especially in the vast quantities I drink it in, and that gives you plenty of Fluid Intake, too, which is always good, right? I'm very fond of Blackcurrant, Strawberry, Lemon and Apple Cinnamon Tetley Tea. Oh, and Twinings Earl Grey. You still get to have all sorts of flavors, but no Calories at all... except for the milk if you take it. And if you like your Tea sweetened, try Honey.

Oh, no! I just remembered that I haven't got my Best Friend's Gifts, yet! Man, better go take care of that!

Finally, I can show you what our house looks like with the Lights Up -- Isn't it lovely? See the New Trees around the Edge of the Circular Driveway? It won't take them much time before they're huge, too!

And this is the Back of the House -- the side that looks out toward the Mountains. I love all the Windows, since the View is constantly Changing, in that the Mountains and the Landscape have so many different looks, depending on the Light and the Weather, so it's very entertaining! No wonder we spend sooo much time in the Sunroom just gazing outside!

Oh, if you have some more Shopping you still have to get done, try my Amazon Page for pretty much anything you can imagine, My Main Shopping Page for a huge variety of cool stuff, or my somewhat older Shopping Page that I set up ages ago, but it has really cool stuff, too!

I love this Company -- what a great idea, especially when you're travelling around at the Holidays or for Business! Plus, my main contact at GoToMyPC is Aydin -- and you know how much I love that name!! ha,ha,ha!

Monday, December 22nd. Hi, Baby-Cakes!! Have you started in with the Chocolates, yet, or are you saving yourself for Christmas? Last night I was standing in my Pantry, looking at all the Chocolate Treats in there, and I swore off all of it -- must get back strictly to my Apple Crumble Plan, I thought. Actually, I did have my delicious Apple Crumble for Breakfast, so I'm half-way there!! ha,ha! Anyhooo, it struck me this morning that I bought myself a Tower of Chocolate and it's under the Christmas Tree, just waiting for me! So forget the earlier vows! Maybe in the New Year! ha,ha,ha!

Oh, hey. I was going to tell you this last week, then I totally forgot -- I picked up a lot of special treats for our Holiday Party (remember that??), and one treat in particular has been the bane of my existence for the last couple of weeks... I got a huuuuuge box of Florentines -- they're delicious clusters of all sorts of nuts and chocolates ( a good joke comes to mind, but it ain't very Christmassy, so you'll have to make it up in your own head!! ha,ha!). Man, they're like the crack cocaine of chocolates for me!! One try and you're hooked! The Florentines are made by Lambertz, a Company that has been around since 1688, so they've had plenty of time to perfect their product, and perfect it they have! Yummmm! Of course, I bought them at Costco!

We didn't get one thing done around here on the weekend -- this is a funny time of year, because the Holidays take over everything, even when you actually do have time to work... you just want to sit around and think about all the Shopping you still have to do! I can't believe I'm still trying to put that off! Must get myself together on that! And I've written out two Holiday Cards (one Christmas one Hanakkah), and haven't mailed either of them. Snail Mail -- it's seems soooo annoyink! I still use it, of course, it just takes me forever to get around to it!

Tip of the Day: When you're Travelling and you know your luggage looks pretty much like everbody else's luggage, tie a couple of bright ribbons or strings to the handles. That way, when you go to the Baggage Claim, you'll be able to spot your Luggage with greater ease. Of course, if everyone and their dog goes with Red Ribbons, that would just be funny! And useless! Or you could have different 'messages' with the Ribbons -Red -- 'I'm looking for Love', Purple -- 'I Come From Royalty...', Mud -- 'I live in the Country' OR 'I Own All the Mud on My Ribbons!' OR 'I haven't washed in weeks...'You get the idea!

Okay, so here's MEEE and My Pantry! That's me 20 pounds ago -- I was a little 'Top-Heavy', if you know what I mean!! ha,ha,ha! And those are my favorite Thigh High Boots -- they're gorgeous! All my Ingredients for the Apple Crumble 'This is the Only Thing that Keeps Me from Chocolate' Diet Mixture and my vast amount of Unsweetened Applesauce are on the Back Wall of the Pantry... and the Butter is in the Fridge!

Well, you know I loooove Jewellery! It's not too late to pick up a wee something for Someone You Love!

Sunday, December 21st. Hey, Baby! What Up?? We're watching Bowling for Columbine, right now (it's a Movie Weekend, and I can luckily watch movies and TV through my Office Windows -- WooHoo -- I never have to miss another Show!

Last night we watched Bruce Almighty, and what a great little movie! Very sweet with lots of laughs -- it would make a great Gift, should you still be out Shopping! I'm gonna make one or two more Shopping Trips, then I have to do a tad more On-line Shopping (through my Own Site, of course!! ha,ha!), then I think I'll be all done.

We're having Dwight's Dad over for Dinner, tonight, so I'll need to keep this short, since I'm the Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, so-to-speak! I'm just making a big Ham with all the trimmings, since that was Dwight's request. We'll have the Turkey Dinner on Christmas Day (then again on News Years Day... we really like Turkey!). That is one of the few meals Dwight is in charge of, since I cannot bring myself to put my hand in the Turkey -- yuck! I just can't go down that path!

Hey, I happened upon this really cool website with a direct feed to see the Santa Barbara area, which I looove! Go to http://www.centralcoasttourist.com/ -- you'll enjoy the Trip! The Site belongs to my new on-line pal, Don -- it's fun to find cool new Sites, ain't it? I hope to one day Build in that Area -- it's always great to have a 'Big Plan' up your sleeve, right?!

Man, that Bowling for Columbine is a really powerful Movie -- there's a really succinct American History that is both funny and compelling -- the way History should be taught in Schools so kids will actually take in the information and make it relevant to their lives...

Tip of the Day: If you want to Freeze your Left-Over Turkey, be sure to buy a fresh Turkey -- remember you can't 'refreeze' any meat. Now, I just buy a smaller Turkey and use it all -- I'll need to post my Recipe for Fabulous Turkey Soup.

And now in reference to the Bowling For Columbine Movie we're watching today, if you have any guns, for God's Sake (and the Sake of all those around you...), get a really good Gun Cabinet and keep them all locked up. The ammunition should be stored in a seperate place than the guns. And someone other than the gun owner should have the Keys. Ideally, I think there should be some sort of Police Station, or Gun Registry Place, where you could choose to keep your guns, that way children and women would be a lot safer... when someone wanted to go hunting, they could swing by the 'Gun Holding Place', show proof of their Hunting Draw, and give a time frame of when they'll be Hunting, and where they'll be hunting. Canada has spent a fortune on a Gun Registry that was a complete Farce, when they could have done something like this.

So here's My Office -- it's fabulous! I'm in here working all the time, so it really needs to be great!

It's all Glassed In, which allows me to see Aidan when he's playing around, down here, or watching a Show. See the fireplace over in the Corner? That has the Granite Surround, now, but my crazy VideowaveIII still won't work, so I can't show you that quite yet. I got my Dest at Costco, and I love it -- it came with a great Table-Desk, too, on the other side of my Office. I always like lots of room! All of the Artwork in my Office is Black and White, which I adore. I love the Shading.

Oh, and you can see the Bar in the Framing Stages over in the opposite area, by the Pool Table. Now the Bar is about 95% done -- we just have to get that Bar Sink in and Tile the Countertop. That'll take about one afternoon, so maybe that'll happen next week.

Well, it's all about Food, today, and for the rest of the Holidays, so I thought I'd give you this Link to save you some Big Bucks!!

Saturday, December 20th. Hi, Honey! Welcome 'Home'!! It's always fun to come Home, again, ain't it? And I won't even try to pick a fight with you, or mention anything about your new hair style -- I love it -- I don't know what those those other people were pointing at!! ha,ha,ha,ha!

Have you finished your Holiday Shopping, yet? I was in my Gift Wrapping Room, last night, and that is an incredibly useful room -- everything is in there to wrap up the presents, and I had Dwight set up a second table so that I can sort the gifts on one table, then wrap them on the next table ... and I can still see the TV! WooHoo! It's hard to keep track of what you have for each person, so I need to lay it all out. You have to be sooo careful when there's more than one Child, because, believe me, they count it up! Everything has to be 'Even Steven'!

Which reminds me -- Aidan was looking to be paid for some job or another that he had done around the house, so I asked fim if he would like to have 1 Quarter or 5 Pennies -- true to all children everywhere, he went for Quantity over Quality, so-to-speak, and went for the 5 Pennies! Ah, kids...they're sooo easy to fool! ha,ha,ha,ha! And last week when Aidan was wasting something or another, in my effort to make him more responsible with his things, I said to him, "Aidan, these things cost a lot of money...Do you have a job?" So, of course, he says to me, "No, can you get me one??" That wee kid! He's sooo funny!

Dwight has finally decided that the Sunroom Tiled Floor needs to be Grouted, and the sooner, the better. YaaHoo! I've been waiting for that! After the last time that I mixed the Grout, myself, (with that enormous Mixer -- man, that thing is really hard on your arms and back... for me, anyway!), I made a mental note to let Dwight do the Mixing in the future, so that meant I had to wait for him to decide when to Grout the Sunroom... Maybe we can get a fair bit of stuff done around the House during the semi-Holidays. They are 'semi-Holidays', because Dwight has to manage the Business (he Owns D.K. Mechanical) on his own for a while -- that's what it is to be Self-Employed! But if it's not too busy, he can get home early and we can work around here. Fun, fun, fun!!

Oh, you know what little Project I really want to work on? No, not the WaterWall -- I desperately want to build that from my new design, but Dwight wants me to finish everything else around here, first, then build the WaterWall -- ugh. For sure, that means I probably won't get it built while we're in this house... ah, well. It's a very cool plan, and I definitely want to give it a shot at some point.

No, the Project I want to have a go at is the Framing of a Poster we got at Hearst Castle this past summer. It's the shot of the Neptune Pool at Night, so the colors would be perfect above the Granite Fireplace Downstairs... but the Poster is a very odd size, and I haven't been able to find a Frame for it, so my Mum suggested that we make our own Frame out of Baseboard, and I ran out to the garage to see if that would work, and it will! I told Dwight the idea, and we found some very thin 'back board', so we'll secure the Poster to the Backboard, I'll Paint the Trim, Dwight will cut it to fit the Poster, and voila, we'll have a nice piece of Art to hang up. I guess the glass isn't always essential -- might as well try it to see how it looks -- we can always add the glass at a later date, right?

Tip of the Day: Today's Tip comes from Theresa, then I have a wee bit to add at the end --

I would like to contribute with a tip of the day. I had a really bad experience today that I hope no woman (or man) has to deal with. My beloved was nice enough to put a new pair of windshield wipers on my car. We had rain & rain & rain this morning. Well the driver's side wiper came off!!!! I had never used that type of clip before & honestly, after standing 5 minutes in the pouring rain I still could not get it on again! I had to finish the last few minutes of my drive without wipers! Always know how to put your own wipers on! If it means a ruined manicure, it's worth it! It's better than being stranded or having to drive in an unneccessarily dangerous situation. It's as essential as all those other emergency items that you think of carrying in your car.

(You can tell for sure that is not MEEE, because I have never called Dwight 'my beloved'! ha,ha,ha,ha,ha!) Thanks for the Tip, Theresa! You can send your Tips in, too -- it's fun to hear from my brilliant Readers!!

Now for my addition to the Tip: Always keep a roll of Duct Tape (which is Dwight's true beloved...har, har!), and hopefully a Combination Tool Thingee with a Screw Driver, Pliers, and a variety of other tools all in one -- I'll see if I can get a Link for that so you can see what it looks like, if you're not familiar with it. Anyway, the Duct Tape is the really important thing.

If, God Forbid, your Windshield Wiper breaks while you're driving in a storm, pull over and fix it with the Duct Tape. If you happen to be sooo prepared that you have a spare Windshield Wiper, they can 'click out' of the bottom post, usually requiring a screw driver and pliers (thus the Combo Tool...). However, if you are like the vast majority of the population and your vehicle is not full of spare parts, just use the Duct Tape to Wrap it around the Wiper to either hold it in place until you can get home or to a Garage, or to wrap the Metal Bottom 'endie bit' (that's a technical name I just made up! ha,ha,ha,ha! Yes, I'm giddy... and what of it, hmmm??) to prevent it from scraping against the window... Seeeee, you just can't go wrong with Duct Tape!

Here's our Master Ensuite -- I love the Glass Block Window (it's one complete Window, not actual Glass Bricks... you can just order it that way...). The light changes the window color all day long, which is pretty cool. I love this shade of blue, and there's a beautiful pinky-blue in the morning when the sun reflects off the Mountains, and the sky is all pink...gorgeous!

Those are the Double Sinks, then you can see the Bedroom through the enormous Mirror that follows the Vault to the Top (!), and you can peak right through to the Sunroom and to the Sundeck, beyond -- very nice! And then, there's my favorite Shower -- it's fabulous! I just put a new Mirror up across from the Shower, so you can have a lovely view (so-to-speak!!ha,ha,ha!) while you're in the Shower!

Oh, you know what? It's not too late to make a Donation to the Toys for Tots Program sponsored by the Marines in the U.S. -- just go to www.toysfortots.org , or drop off any items you might have at your Local Community Center or Firehall. We can make the Holidays wonderful for everyone!!

Friday, December 19th. Hello, Daaaarling!! I hope you have a great 'Last Day at Work' before the Holidays!! Dwight's Dad (and Business Partner...) is heading out to see Dwightie's Sister, so he'll be working over the Holidays... that's okay, though, because Cara is home, so that's waaay less work for me! Maybe I can even sleep in -- that's by far my favorite part of the Holidays -- that and the Gifts and Meals! And the Carolling!! Christmas Carols always remind me of all the fun we had at Church Choir when I was a Girl (I'm still a Girl, just slightly larger and older!! ha,ha,ha!).

Man, that took me a long time! Dwight had some big, long story about the Weather ... always a riveting subject! ha,ha,ha! The two phrases that drive me up the wall the most, out here, are ,"Hot enough for ya'??", and "Cold enough for ya'??" And they are invariably followed by a "Yuff, yuff...", like that's THE funniest thing to ever emit from someone's mouth...

You know what's really funny? I do all sorts of 'High Level' work, then interspersed with that, I'm constantly checking to see if Aidan, our 4 year old boy, is still wearing his Undies!! How funny is that? Just your typical 'Corporate Mom'!! And there is a tremendous amount of 'bathroom talk', but not the 'potty mouth talk' like at the Office -- this really is all about the Bathroom!! And how to get Aidan in there more often! Ah, well... such is the life of a Mum, right?

I was saying to Dwight, last night, when we were discussing Aidan and the Toilet (see how it permeates your life??) that I have noticed such huuuge differences between raising a girl versus raising a boy -- girls take careful note of everything, and they can see how their actions cause a reaction, whereas boys don't seem to notice much at all... then I realized that by their very nature, they have this bred into them for Survival. If Men have to go off to War, Hunt Mastadonians (I hope those are Dinosaurs and not people, for goodness sake!!) (I looked it up and the word I was searching for was 'Mastadons'!!), they would have to be able to do a lot of things without thinking the whole thing through, right? And so, that makes me feel a whole lot better about my somewhat crazy little man, Aidan!! Thank God he's soooo very cute! Works for his Father, too! ha,ha,ha!

Tip of the Day: Okay, back to Building! I'll need to give Dwight a shout at work to remind him to pick up a Bar Sink for the New Bar by the Billiard Room. But that also reminds me of how you can update your Kitchen, Bathroom, or your own Bar by changing the Countertop. Typically, you can pry the entire Countertop off (Take the Sink Out, first -- get a plumber if you're not sure how to do that!), and replace it with Two Sheets of carefully cut 5/8th Plywood. You can Glue and Screw the wood together for extra strength. Usually, the Countertop is 24" Deep, but you can choose to make it 26" deep if the Cabinetry allows for that. It really shouldn't have more than an inch overhang, though, or it'll just look silly, and we want to avoid that, if only in the kitchen! ha,ha,ha! Then you can go ahead and Tile the Countertop!

OR, you can go ahead and Order some nice new Granite or Marble Countertops, or check out the New Faux Products that are on the Market, now. An Arborite Countertop is still a good option -- neat and clean, and very affordable. Check out the new 'Edge' options for the Countertops that are Custom Made -- they're very cool! It's like a routered Edge, only in Stone!

Thank you for coming in to see me, today! See you again, tomorrow! Oh, and if you've been up all night wondering what on earth to get for MEEE (ha,ha,ha,ha!), just bring me some extra Visitors! I love Traffic -- the more the merrier, then I have a better chance of people clicking on my Ads, then my Site can make a Profit, then I can keep it going!! Now that would be a great gift!!

This is a good selection of pictures to give you a good idea of what our Master Bedroom with Adjacent Sunroom looks like -- it's extra big and extra comfy! Just the way I like it!!

You can see that Tia is often relaxing in here -- in the middle picture, she's exhausted from a hard day of deer-watching, so she's flaked out in the Sunroom! That's my favorite Reading Spot! The two doors on the opposite wall in the Third picture are the Walk-In Closet on the Right -- it has a cool 11' Vault with a nice Chandelier. The Ensuite is on the Left, and it's stunning, too. All very Pretty and Bright. Think my house is an accurate reflection of me?? I know that Tia and I match!! ha,ha,ha!

Thursday, December 18th! Hey there, Sunshine! Only one day left before the Big Holiday!! Can you believe it?? We can hardly wait to sleep in -- not Dwight and Aidan -- they always get to sleep in -- it's Cara and I who have to get up so early. Poor Cara -- it's still dark when she goes to get her School Bus in the morning, but it'll be light again by the time School goes back in in January. This is a weird time of year with the Equinox -- it gets dark here at 4:00pm, and the sun doesn't come up until about 8:00am -- makes for long, cold days and nights! Thank Goodness for the Beautiful Christmas Lights -- they really get you through the Season!

I love coming through to the Living Room in the Morning and seeing the Christmas Tree and the Fireplace all lit up -- gorgeous! The first thing I do in the morning is go around and flip on all the Christmas Lights, Kettles, Fireplaces... makes the morning really a lovely experience!

Well, I think I've convinced Dwight that the Steam Room is the next Project to complete over the Holidays... it looks like it'll only take a couple of Days to finish, since the vast majority of the Tile Work is done -- you have to go through an elaborate process to protect the walls from the Steam before you can Tile it, and we used a 16" Tile -- it's gorgeous! The Controls for the Steam Unit are already Installed (Dwight loves Steam Units!! ha,ha!), so it's just a matter of completing the Tile on the Door Surround and a little more Tile on the Upper Walls. Oh, and then Installing the Steam Unit, itself. In case you're wondering how much this sort of Steam Room would run you (it's a 5' X 8' Steam Room with Double Seats and Shower -- seats four, if you feel like inviting your friends over (!!) for a Steam...ha,ha,ha!), it would cost between $10,000. - $15,000. for the full Bathroom/Steamroom Combination. Everybody wants those things to be cheap, but they ain't!! Just the way it is... it's one of those jobs that is incredibly Labor-Intensive, and then the Steam Machine and the Fixtures are right up there in Cost. It's worth it in a House of this Nature -- I think I would put in a smaller version in the next house, 'cause, really, who are we gonna have over for a Steam?? But it's a cool Feature for this House! Oh, yeah, then we have to Order the Glass Door, which is ludicrously expensive, but gorgeous!

Oh, speaking of everything in the Building Process being really expensive (almost every project costs more than you think it will!), Dwight has been looking into increasing our Mortgage. Just a little, but enough to cover all the rest of the Projects that need to be done, like the Driveway and the Steam Room. Really, I can't think of many other Projects that are Big -- there are a few smaller things to do -- still some Base Trim to do, but I paint them and Dwight just bought a new Radial Arm Saw, so we can do that ourselves, and the Sunroom Tiled Floor needs to be grouted. Those are relatively small jobs, in the scheme of things. The reason we'd be able to easily increase our Mortgage is because it's an Open Variable Rate Mortgage -- my favorite kind of Mortgage, by far. They typically have the Lowest Mortgage Rate, which I like, and it's flexible enough for us if we decide to Build again...if we were to decide to Stay a lot Longer (more than 3 - 5 years), we would switch to a Fixed 15 Year Mortgage.

And just so you know, I would never, ever sign up for a Bi-Weekly Payment Plan for a Mortgage -- they're becoming quite popular, because they are supposed to cut your Total Payment Time Down substantially, but you can achieve the same thing by making One or Two Extra Payments (or Extra Lump Sum Payments) a Year on your Mortgage. Who needs the stress of having to come up with TWO Mortgage Payments per Month?? That's crazy, and too much for an average Family. I hate anything that creates Stress in a Family that can possibly be avoided, because that's never good for the Marriage or for the Children... Financial Stress Sucks, so you want to avoid that at all costs, so-to-speak! Make your life comfortable and easy, not stressful and crazy. Sounds easy, but is it? (That's Ellen's Line -- man, her Show is hilarious!)

That reminds me -- remember when we went to 'The Mall' the other night? Well, the only things I really want for Christmas is a copy of Ellen Degeneres' Book, The Funny Thing Is, and a big Box of really good Chocolates. I love to curl up with a great book,a box of Chocolates and a Great Big Cup of Tea and spend Christmas Afternoon reading in my Sunroom. Now that's my idea of Fun!! (One of my ideas....!!) On the way in to 'The Mall', I asked Cara and Dwight who they still had to buy for, and I was on their Lists, so I said again that I just wanted the Ellen Book, since I've already bought myself the Chocolates -- I asked Dwight to get them, but he claimed he couldn't find them anywhere... they're secretly hidden on the Gift Aisle at Costco!! I like 'The Tower of Chocolates', because it comes beautifully wrapped, so at least I don't have to wrap my own gift, which isn't nearly as much fun as it sounds...

Anyway, to make what is becoming a long story, short, I picked up my own books -- I also wanted a couple more Steinbeck Books after reading East of Eden in the Summer with Oprah's Book Club (a fabulous read!!), Ellen's New Book, and some Books for Cara (Aidan has all of Cara's zillion Childrens' Books...). After we got home, Cara says to me privately that Dwight already got me the Ellen Book, but didn't want to tell me in the car... or in the Book Store when I was holding another copy of it... So now we have Two Copies -- I'll need to find 'the Perfect Recipient'!!

Tip of the Day: This is a 'Project Tip' -- Be sure to do One Project at a time when you're doing a Revovation. It's soooo easy to run around the house and tear everything to pieces, especially right after you've watched a Trading Spaces Marathon!! Remember, that's TV Magic, right there, and they have the amazing Ty Pennington or Vern Yip... and their Budget in no way includes the vast amount of Labor for the Job at hand -- and they still only do One Room!

Have a solid look at the entire job at hand -- make a list of every tiny item that has to be done to begin the job and to bring it to completion. This takes time, but is an essential part of keeping the job on track once you get started, and let's you know right off the bat if you'll need to bring in a Professional. Oh, and always bring in a Professional when you're dealing with anything that could be life-threatening -- gas, electricity, fire, height, weight -- if it falls on you, that'd be your last project... that sort of thing. If you think you'll need to bring someone in, add that to the budget. Even get a quote before you rip any part of the House out... better to know than to be shocked at the price later, then already have the house ripped apart!

Well, here are some shots of the Steam Room In Progress... it's very tricky to get a good shot of the interior of the Steam Room, and of course my stoooopid Videowave III is still denying me access to my own program...hate that! I won't be able to get Brand New Pics up 'til I sort that out... must find myself a Techie!!

That's actually the same Tile in the Steam Room as on the Countertop in the Steam Room Cabinets. It can take on a different Hue according to the Light. Speaking of that, can you make out the Glass Block Window in the actual Steam Area? It's a cool feature. And I love the Diagonal Sinks -- Dwight got them at his favorite Plumbing Supply Store. Very unique. All the Bathroom Sinks in the House match, as do the Fixtures..

In the First Picture, you can see the Tiles are laid on the Diagonal on the Floor, and the same way on the Ceiling. That's one of the Built-In Benches on the Left Side of the Steam Room -- there's a Two Person Bench on either Side, facing each other. Oh, and there's my Unscented Lubriderm, which I could not manage without!! ha,ha! I'll post the Finished Pictures as soon as we're done the Steam Room and I can capture my Digital Pictures to my Computer!! Wish me luck on both counts! ;)

I'm putting these Gift Basket Site Links on before Christmas and Chanakah (and let's not forget Kwanzaa, so another vairation on The O.C.'s 'Christmakah Holiday' would be 'Christmakahwanzaa', which sounds great to me!!) because you can never go wrong with a Gift Basket! And they're a great Last-Minute Gift!!

Wednesday, December 17th. Hi, Honey-Babe! You know you're my favorite Reader!! It's true. It's because you're soooo smart and funny, not to mention good-looking! Okay, so here's how I really say 'smart' -- ''schmarmy" I know, it's a bit of a transition! You go from 'smart' to 'schmart' to 'schmarmy'! It seems like a direct and obvious link in my brain, which is slightly overcrowded with ideas... Dwight would hate it in there -- his brain is nice and neat and clean -- nothing cluttered in there! ha,ha,ha! (I hope he never reads my Daily Update!! ha,ha,ha,ha,ha!)

Man, I can't believe we're soooo close to Christmas -- next Thursday, already! And School is out on Friday -- so all the Travellers will be out Flying and Driving all over the place, and the Last-Minute Shopping is gonna be crazy.... I'm not nearly as organized for the Holidays as I usually am. Too many other things going on around here that Christmas has kind of taken a back seat, when it is usually the Focal Point of this time of year. Ah, well. I have to pop into Town (a whole 7 minutes away, but I feel like I have to go INTO Town -- isn't that funny, to feel like that when if we were in the City, you would think anything 7 minutes away was really, really close... ah, Country Living!) to drop off some more Gifts and stuff to the Community Center for the Families in Need. We have soooo much stuff for a wee boy, too, that I'd like to find out if there's a family where we could give them Aidan's things that he has outgrown, including his little Car Bed. Now, technically, Aidan still really loves the Car Bed, but Dwight thinks it should go, so I'd like to find it a new home for a wee boy who would love it.

Hey, you know what I think would make a really funny gift? We were in Helena, Montana, on our Trip this past Summer, and I thought it would be hilarious if they made Handbaskets in Helena with a Calendar of Pictures of Helena, then you could give the gift where they could go to 'Helena in a Handbasket'! ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha! Yep, that's how my mind works!! It's lots of fun in there, plenty of activity! Which reminds me, of course, of Nativity, and that reminds me that I still haven't put out the liitle Santa's Village Light Up Set -- I think it's somewhere out in the Garage...I'll show you a picture of it -- it's very cute!

Well, I better keep this short if I'm going to get everything done that I need to do, today...last night I found myself with a few extra minutes, and there was some Dap in the Bathroom Drawer (doesn't everyone have Building Supplies in their Bathroom Drawers ... or just drawers in general?? ha,ha!), so I filled all the little nail holes on the White Trim that I've been meaning to do for ages, but couldn't find the Dap If you're not familiar with Dap, it's a great little product that comes in a convenient Tube to fill any little holes or cracks in your home -- it comes in a variety of colors, too, so you can match it to a number of things, or you can fill any holes then paint over the area.

Tip of the Day: Well, this is kind of a Professional Tip, so that you can stay current in your Profession or Chosen Field... I wish I had done this before, and now I have a lot of work to do to get my Status back to where it was before... So do yourself a big favor and Keep all your Certifications and Credentials up-to-date. Why there is an 'Expiry Date' on a Credential that you've earned in the first place is beyond me -- my Teacher Certification in Ontario, Canada, is good for Life, which is the way it should be, since those skills don't disappear... really, I think it's like a Driver's License, where you need to renew it every certain number of years, but what with a Shortage in Certain Professional Areas, it doesn't make much sense to me.

Oh by the way, one of my most used phrases happens to be,"That's crazy...that makes no sense at all!" I like everything to make sense, or I have to be able to make some sense out of it, or I find it incredibly annoyink! That's why I despise Injustice of any Sort, because it makes absolutely no sense...

Here's the Bear Table with the Santa's Village Set on it -- very cute, no?? And then I adore an Amaryllis Plant at the Holidays -- this year my new Amaryllis is about 10" Tall and a little 'rude' looking, so I'll have to wait until it blooms to take it's picture! ha,ha,ha! The one in this picture lasted until a couple of weeks ago, then I had to cut it back and put it in the Garage. You just leave the bulb in a cold place for a few months (3-6 months...), then bring it inside, water it and the whole thing starts again.. Very cool!

And there's Tia getting into the Christmas Spirit out in the Garden on her Rope! She really has a great time playing around out there! Looks like she's looking for some Deer -- she just wants the teensiest nibble!! ha,ha,ha! Thank Goodness she'll never be able to get to them!

Tuesday, December 16th. Hey, Baby Cakes!! Sorry I'm sooo late getting to my Daily Update, today! Cara is home sick, today, and I had to go back to bed, too -- it dawned on me around noon that we had both had the Clams at dinner, last night... ah, well. I had my favorite Apple Crumble for Lunch, because it's good for evening out your system, too (it's just a little tasty miracle!!), and I do feel quite a bit better. Next time, we'll go Greek!

So you know how I was saying I didn't care for going to The Mall? Well, I'm gonna have to rethink that one, since I scored the most fabulous Top while we were there. Dwight went mad for it! Now he's on a mission to figure out a place where we can go dancing, so I can wear it out. There used to be a bunch of really great Clubs with a nice variety of Dance Music, then they slowly dwindled away... Techno Music is good for about a minute, then I want to hear some words, in case I want to sing along!! Some Old-School would be nice... mixed in with some great new stuff.

Have you seen Ellen, yet? Her DJ, Tony, is like an identical double to my great friend, Jim, who is also a DJ (and a Civil Engineer...!). Anyway, I think it would be waaaaay cool if DJ Tony started up a Chain of Dance Clubs with the great music he plays on Ellen. Wouldn't that be great?? I'd go, and more than once in five years, which is the last time I went dancing... Oh, and hey -- I think Jim happens to be single, right now (although I'll have to check with him -- now that's really a 'Daily Update' kind of thing!!)... I think you know where I'm going with that ! I'm just a little 'Matchmaker!! I want to see everybody in Love!!

Tip of the Day: Today's Tip is a Financial Tip, and it sounds painfully obvious, but it is essential to getting yourself ready to Buy a Home-- get into the habit of paying your bills (in general!!) on time, and keep a written record of every bill you've paid. I wish I had started doing this a long time ago, because it really changes how you feel about things when you know you can glance back over what bills were paid and when, if there's a screw-up in the Billing. It was essential when I got those two crazy Power Bills this past summer -- if I hadn't had my records to prove what had been paid, they were going to give us an even harder time... that was incredibly annoyink to deal with!

I keep all my Financial Records for Bill Paying in a Regular 3-Ring Notebook -- you can pick them up anywhere, then I file the Bills away by the Month. Dwight wanted me to File them by the Company, but that doesn't work for me. I prefer to be able to go right back to any month in question and finding the bill directly. I have them all in a File Folder Box -- the ones with the Handles...

Then you'll know everything is in Order, and you'll be developing really good Financial Habits. Also, I keep every Document ever, just in case I'll need it in the Future. I think I used to be fairly casual about all sorts of Paperwork that I realize now was essential... won't do that anymore! So even though Dwight is a little more anal-retentive than I used to like, I have learned a tremendous amount about keeping on track Financially and keeping my Paperwork in Order. That will help you when you're ready to Buy a Home, or you want to Move Up!

Here's what you see when you first come in the House -- it's great to have a ton of space in the Front Entry, because we always have a ton of stuff to bring in (including a tremendous amount of Lumber and assorted Building Supplies!!), and whenever you have guests, everyone likes to congregate in the Front Entry for that 'last little chat', so lots of room is great!

Monday, December 15th. Hey, HEY, Hey!! (Did you go up a note on the middle 'HEY'?? ha,ha!) Did you have a fabulous Weekend?? Were you out Shopping, or are you all done, already? Cara desperately wants to go to The Mall (I'm not a Mall Girl -- I prefer Costco, Walmart and On-Line, but mostly, I don't like to Shop at all... except for large hauls at Costco, but then I don't have to Shop again for another 6 weeks -- that totally works for me! And saves money, too, so we can build an even Bigger House!! ha,ha!) (You know, I just re-read that first bit, and how could it possibly be that "I don't like to Shop at all"??? Really, I think that's what I tell myself as I unload the entire Van full of Stuff! Ah, well. Delusion has really worked for me over the years, so why stop now?? ha,ha,ha!))

Speaking of Building A Bigger House (you know how we are going to 'Move Down in Order to Move Up' ? Hey, I should make that a Whole Page --- that's a catchy little Title!), we had our First Open House. It was fun and relaxing -- we had Kenny G's Christmas Music on in the Great Room, and Remy Shand on in the Master/Sunroom, so we went from Room to Room, depending on where we wanted sit and chat, and which Music we felt like listening to... and the House was just sparkling, so it looked extra lovely!

You know what's fun about an Open House? Other than someone comes over and Buys Your Home?? ha,ha! You get to meet all sorts of really interesting people -- and they come right to your door! You don't even have to leave the house!! Now that's my kind of Meeting!! So we had some really nice people stop in to see the House -- they all loved it. It's a really pretty house -- I'm excited about the Prospect of Building it again -- the only question is Where!!

Plus, your House is nice and clean for the whole next week! WooHoo! And just in time for the Holidays! I think that's the only Open House we'll have for a while -- we'll have to see how the weather is, since everything is very much weather-related, here... if it's going to be Icy or there's a Snow Storm blowing in, there's no point in having one, although we do have enough rooms for everyone to stay overnight, if they had to!! ha,ha! Maybe if the Weather is nice and we're not doing anything else (like going out to Banff and Lake Louise -- it's gorgeous out there at Christmas Time!), we'll have another Open House over the Holidays...

I have soooo many Gifts in my Wrapping Room waiting for me to wrap them up -- thankfully, they don't harrass me, but I really should get on that so it's not overwhelming later... plus, Aidan's in there all the time sneaking a peek! Dwight needed his Book-Keeper's Christmas Gift Wrapped, this morning, so I quickly ran down and wrapped it for him -- he was going to just leave it for her unwrapped -- isn't that terrible? Not on any serious level of 'terrible', of course, just just a moderate, "Dwi-ight! Don't give her a present unwrapped -- Girl-45 -- that not be good!" So now it's all wrapped and very pretty -- much better! Men! You can't sell them...apparently...really must look into that! I'm sure there's a Site out there with content just about that!! ha,ha,ha,ha! (Now I'm just amusing myself, again!! ha,ha,ha!)

Sting is on Ellen, this morning, and he is absolutely hilarious! What a great Show!! Must pick up a copy of his Biography.

That reminds me -- did you see the Finale of Survivor last night? That crazy Dwight kept saying we wouldn't find out who the winner was until today -- Cara was trying to explain how they just Film it later, that would find out in a minute, but Dwight was holding firm to his little belief system...finally I had to intercede and tell Cara she'd just give herself a headache pursuing that line of thought any further, so she just let it go, and wouldn't you know it, the Show cut to the Los Angeles Studio Audience, complete with Johnny Fairplay's Grandmother, alive and well! Sooo funny!

Did you watch Survivor last night? We love that Show -- all those Beaches and Bee-otches, if you know what I mean!! ha,ha,ha! I do not like Sandra, but she might end up the Winner... I am very fond of Burton, but that's mostly because he's soooo good looking! I'm deep, that way!! ha,ha,ha! I always love that no one ever seems to know how to spell the person's name that they're voting out... of course, the last thing you want to hear on your way to Tribal Council is,"Say, how do you spell your name, again??" har, har!

So I called it correctly! WooHoo! Wish I'd placed a Bet! I never have time to gamble!! I like to 'Gamble on Real Estate', since I am wont to not make any money on an 'investment' -- now that would just annoy me! I hate wasting money of any sort, but if I knew it would be a sure thing, I'd go for it! But if you happened to make a Bet on Survivor and Won, drop me a line and let us all know! And if you were kind enough to make a bet through My Site, I thank you very, very much!!

Anyway, it was great to see two women in the Top Two -- you go, Girls!! And I hope Burton grows his Beard back, because he looks great with it, and that moustache has to go from Johnny Fairplay, unless he's looking at getting into some Movies of a 'Blue' nature! ha,ha,ha! Maybe he could be the Pizza Delivery Man...I can hear the music now, and, no, not because I'm watching those movies as I write... there's no time for that, what with all the great new Morning Television, now!! ha,ha,ha!

Tip of the Day: Well, today's Tip of the Day comes from my new pal, Theresa -- her e-mails are hilarious, and she's one of my wonderful Faithful Readers (and by 'Faithful', I don't mean that they never read anyone else...I'm surprisingly liberal about that! ha,ha,ha,ha!). So here's Theresa's Tip:

"With winter coming up & most of Canada using salt on ice, all our boots get those awful salt stains. try using household vinegar to wipe it off. safe on leather & effective. I had salt stains on my precious cowboy boots, tried it & it was wonderful. Another home remedy for you, lol."

Then she adds, " Well take care, catch the update tomorrow, I have become so addicted. lol..." Theresa

Thanks for the Tip, Theresa! I'm gonna try it, too! You know, in Alberta, they don't use very much Salt on the Roads -- they use Gravel and Sand. When I first moved here, I couldn't believe how many crappy Drivers there were that their Windshields were all cracked. Well, after my first year here, I found out the hard way that the reason everyone and their dog (they're sooooo loaded out here that they can afford an SUV for their Dogs, too! ha,ha,ha,ha!) had cracks in their Windshields -- the Gravel that is used to control the Ice on the Roads flies up and bashes into your Windshield, over and over again. So that's where all the cracks come from! But I'm still gonna try that tip on our Boots!

I love to get your E-mails, so feel free to drop me a line anytime. I've gotta get Theresa's letters on the Site, 'cause they're really funny!

Now let me go get you some pictures! Be right baaaa-aack! (That sounds a little Sheepish -- oh, great -- now we're gonna attract the Engineering Crowd...! ha,ha,ha,ha! There's nothing an Engineer likes more than a Sheep Joke! Or is that Cheap Joke?? Whatever...they're always up for a laugh!!)

Have I shown you these, yet? I love this feature, and it took me ages to even find a Full Size Freezer, then a Full Size Matching Fridge. It was a pain in the shirt getting them, but they're wonderful to have! Now I can't imagine managing without that kind of space -- you never have to run out to the Garage or Downstairs -- wherever it is you typically keep your 'Big Freezer'. I don't know if this is good, or not, but I have Three Big Freezers and Three Fridges -- that can't be good!!

So one of the cool things with this Fridge & Freezer Set is the Configuration of the Cabinets around them -- it looks great, doesn't it? The one Tower is for Cereal and Stuff, and the Other Tower is for Small appliances like the Toasters, extra Kettles, the Electric Skillet, The George Foreman Grill ... that sort of thing. Very functional. They only came in White when we were Building this house (which I really like, anyway, because it's neat and clean...), but I'll have to check and see if they have them in Black for the next Build, whenever that is!!

Don't forget that if you have Kids and want to proudly display their 'Artwork' (the best pieces are the most questionable ones!!), magnets will not stick to the Fancy Chrome Finish on modern fridges. They look fabulous, but I'm gonna need to stick stuff to the Fridge for a few more years, yet!! Chrome -- is that right? Must ask Dwight when he gets home!!

I just went to see what my Site looks like on the Internet (I work on it, then check to see how it'll look to you, my incredibly smart and good looking Readers!!), and I noticed that the Crown Moulding is not on the Cabinetry in the first two shots, but it is on in the third picture... it's very pretty -- Trevor and I put it up.

Oh, and I had all the Ribbon Lights up at the Front Entry (boxes and boxes of them...) in hopes that this year, Dwight would put them up. I want to wrap them around the Columns out in the Front. I think they're 10' Columns, so it would look great! But it ain't lookin' good for this year, so I put them back in the Storage Room under the Stairs (I hate wasting money or space, and the area under the Stairs is a great usable space for storage...). Maybe I'll drag them back up if it looks like Dwight will help me with them -- I don't like to get up that high on the Ladder, but that doesn't bother Dwight at all! I'll let you know how it works out!

Hey, if you have some spare time over the Holidays, this is a fun thing to do -- I do them, too!

Sunday, December 14th. Hi Honey! You're Home!! What's that on your breath?? Chocolate? Chocolate Liqueur?? Well, as long as you have enough for all of us, it's all good! ha,ha,ha! Oh, yeah. Remember when I couldn't get that New Bottle of the White Chocolate Godet Liqueur opened? Dwight had to resort to getting some pliers out of the Garage to open it, but by then I'd already started in with the Hot Apple Cider and Spiced Rum (it's waaaay passed breakfast by this time in my little story! ha,ha,ha!), so I didn't have any. Well, wouldn't you know it, when I was in the Fridge last week looking for Cheese Strings for Aidan, didn't I see that cute little white bottle hiding behind the Milk...wasn't that lucky to find? So I had a wee bit, and it was as delicious as I had remembered it from years ago. Yummy. (That's the kind of solid Building Information you can get from my Daily Update! ha,ha,ha,ha!)

I spent waaaay too much time getting the Hand-Outs ready, yesterday. I needed to Print Out the Our House Is For Sale Page, since it's a really good page. I popped down to a local Specialty Copier Place, and man, what bee-otches are in there. They were so difficult to deal with. It took me two hours when it should have only taken half an hour at the most. I won't go back there, again, if I can possible avoid it. I wish Staples would offer a Service where you could Download from the Internet... I would have been far better off, there. Ah, well. The Hand-Outs for the Open House look great, so it was all worth it.

By the time I got home, it was time for Cara to head out for her last Performance in Shakespeares' Coriolanus and Dwight was heading off to a Hockey Game. So I started cleaning like mad to get the House all Prepped for the Open House. Now we're all excited about it! It doesn't even bother me to do all the cleaning on my own, because I'm the real driving force behind the Building Process, so if you're gonna push, you gotta do the background work, right? The House is just sparkling! Can't wait to show it!!

When we first showed people our House Plans for this house, and while we were in the Building Process, soooo many women said to me that I was crazy to want such a big house because it would be impossible to clean. You know what? The bigger the House, the less cleaning there is...it's true! And not just because I'm lazy er nothin' ...ha,ha,ha! It's because there's a space for everything, so cleaning is pretty straight-forward. Mostly it involves picking up a whole lot of toys and returning them to their rightful place... and Dwight loooooves to Vacuum, so that's his job! I look forward to the day he does it without swearing, though!! Not sure how it always spirals down to that!! ha,ha,ha!

The Kitchen and the Laundry took up a lot of time, but the Island looks fabulous when it's completely cleared off. You know I have a little 'quirk' about the Island...I like to have one full half of it cleared at all times...(it's a 12 foot square area -- I counted it up, today!). Now, someone in our house constantly puts empty glasses on my 'clear side' (that's where I do all the food prep...), and it drives me up the wall! Now what's gonna happen when we have an Island a fraction of this size in the next house?? Are there Laws about Selling Your Husband with the House? Maybe that would be practical -- he could fix anything they wanted, will occasionally do Yard Work...no, no. That's just a pipe dream! Plus, I might have to pay them for that Service, so forget it! I'm gonna need him to carry some Boxes, anyway!!

Tip of the Day: Before you have an Open House, get all your relevant House Information together, like the Taxes per Year, Heating and Air Conditioning Costs, what Schools are in the Area -- that sort of thing. Just think of all the stuff you would want to know before you bought a new home, and then you can have the info ready for your 'House Guests'!

Well, here's a funny little 'combo pack'!! I was looking for Dwight's picture so you could see just how easy he would BE to sell (I'm kidding, I'm kiddink!), then I happened upon these Deer Pictures of our wee Deer Family! They're all cute, ain't they?? ha,ha,ha!

Hey, don't these look fabulous?? Man, there's a good reason to move to the States, right there! The last time I was on their Site, I could send the Chocolate Strawberries to Friends in the States, but not to myself up here in Canada -- let me know if they've changed it, if you happen to be in Ordering for the Holidays!!

Saturday, December 13th. Hey, Baby! What Up, Daaaawg?! ha,ha,ha! Well, well, well -- the 13th -- Lucky 13... it's always a lucky number for me! Why, I once got a Divorce on the 13th -- that was a particularly lucky day!! Cara and I have to go find a place where we can Download my new 'Our House Is for Sale' Page. I had the worst time trying to figure out how to trnsfer the picture part of the page into an e-mail or even Word -- man, I need to learn that! I miss Steve, my old Webmaster!! Remember he moved to Toronto to pursue his Big Comedy Career? Well, he's having a great time and I'm struggling away with my computer ... really must find myself a new computer guy!

Anyway, Cara and I will head into Calgary to Staples to see if they can Download the Sheet from my Site, then we'll get about 50 copies on heavy paper. Those will be the 'Hand-Outs' for people who come to our Open House on Sunday, and then for anybody else who happens to come and see the house.

It's funny -- you go through so many phases when you're about to put your house on the Market...we wander from room to room, saying,"We can't give this up..." meaning whatever room we happen to be in. "We can't give up the Sunroom..." "We can't give up the Great Room -- look at the Tree! It's soooo beautiful!" These are the deep and meaningful things we say to each other! Ah, well...on the flip side, we get ridiculously excited when we see a car drive up...it's just in our nature, I think! A Potential Buyer to us represents the beginning of the next Stage, and that's always great!

Dwight is going to stay Home with Aidan and get the Signs ready. It's a good idea to mark your Open House really clearly, so people can easily find you. And anyone who is actually in the Market to Buy a Home can spot those signs a mile away -- we used to squeal,"Dwight! Stop the car, stop the car! I think I just saw an Open House Sign!" I should make a Bumper sticker that says,"I Brake for Open Houses!", and "Will Work for Land!".

I went to Cara's School Play, last night -- they put on a Production of Shakespeare's Coriolanus. I think I know why it was one of the 'Lesser Known' Plays! har, har! But the kids realy pulled it off and did a great job. It was soooo hard to wait for Cara's fight scene with the biggest kid (and I use the term 'kid' very loosely!!) in the School. You would have been proud of me, though -- I didn't storm the Stage once! Isn't that something?? ha,ha,ha! But I did gasp loudly, as wuld be expected of any Mum, right??

You know what we do during an Open House (because we always Sell on our Own...)? We listen to Music, Watch Movies, once we had a Hot Tub (I think that was back in the 'extremely casual' days!! ha,ha,ha). Dwight actually showed that house in his Bathing Suit -- to two girls! Funny... The key is to be relaxed (not as relaxed as Dwight, but relaxed to a normal degree...) and enjoy your day at home.

And it is perfectly okay to walk people through your House -- who knows the place better than you? Especially for us, since we built it, 'n all! We recognize different 'Types' that come to Open Houses, too. There are some Folks who are coming in and feel a need to Diss the place, no matter what your house looks like (thye are usually renting a little hole somewhere, and have a need to feel or appear superior... We say, we're all in the same boat -- I'll be happy for you and you be happy for me -- it's better that way, right??)...those are the annoying ones, and they never, ever Buy the House, so we just discount them and thank them for coming by. I think it bothers them that you haven't responded to any negativity, and that throws them off -- that's fun! You have to look at the whole thing with a sense of humor, 'cause it can get weird.That's why the vast majority of people use a Realtor -- it's just more convenient for us to Sell on Our Own. We just view it as a Business Transaction, and Dwight and I both own our own Businesses, so it ain't no thang...! ha,ha,ha!

We had a bizarre Family come in the Last House we sold, and it was their mission to 'make the house crazy' to throw us off. It happens. They even brought their yappy little dog in, and Tia was going crazy. Needless to say, it quickly became a situation of chaos, and we were trying to write up the deal. When they left, I said to Dwight that if it was that chaotic writing up the Deal, the whole Process would be a nightmare, and we were right. Thankfully, they let the Day pass where they had to Confirm the Deal, so Dwight and I agreed to let them slip away. It's sooo much better to have a normal Buyer with no weird stuff attached. We're never in a hurry to move (there's always Great Land to Buy, right?), so we prefer to wait for the Right Buyer. (Anyone who can afford the house who isn't a total nutcase!! ha,ha,ha!)

Tip of the Day: Advertise, advertise, advertise! Whenever you are trying to Sell Your Home, Advertise it yourself. If your Realtor is also Advertising, great -- you can add to that. But never take a total back seat tot the Sale of Your Home. It's one of the biggest Financial Transactions of your life, so beign pro-active is a positive thing. This is not to say, getting in your Realtors way -- that'll backfire for sure...but tell everyone you know that your House is on the Market, Advertise in your Local Newspapers and On-Line, and make sure your House Sign is haning in a Location where potential Buyers can see it.

If you're doing your own sign, write your Number on there in Big Permanent Marker Numbers. It's hilarious how many people put their Number in Pen, Pencil (no kidding!), or in tiny writing. Most folks out looking will be in their cars, so the writing has to be big enough to read from the road.

Although I've been known to wade through a muddy field to get a phone number for some really nice Land, but that's just me!! ha,ha,ha!

Thanks for coming in, today. Pop in and see the Pictures on my new page --

Friday, December 12th. Hey, Sugar Bear! Now there's a Term of Endearment I've never used, except in a joke with Cara last night -- so important to always laugh with your Kids -- they're hilarious! And Developing a Sense of Humor is wonderful for Developing the Mind! I always joke around with all my Students when I'm Teaching, too -- it's good for their Brains! I used to laugh myself silly when my guys labeled 'Severely Handicapped' could crack a joke that would break you right up ... that's the best feeling!

Sorry it took me soooo long to get to my Daily Update, today, if you're an Early Morning Reader... I've been working on the Our House Is For Sale Page, since Our House Officially went on the Market this Morning. For now, anyway...we're having an Open House on Sunday, so I wrote a great Ad for the two main Calgary Newspapers and submitted them On-Line -- man, I love the Computer -- so efficient! But I hate my stoopid Printer -- that thing has never worked... Dwight was supposed to take it back to Staples and exchange it, but instead he was convinced to put it in for Repair, which didn't work, so I'm left with no functioning Printer... annoyink! So I had to get a Page ready that Dwight's Secretary could Download for our Hand-Out Sheet -- that's what took me so very long ... that and the ten glasses of gin...no, no...that was yeshterrrday... I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I'll wait until Noon, fer sure....! ha,ha,ha,ha!

I still need to add some nice Mountain View Shots, but I'll do that in a minute... It's nice to have a new page where you can have a Quick Overview of the House -- and you can see how much a House of this calibre is in our Area. I'll tell you, I would love, love, love to Build This House in California -- man, it'd worth a fortune down there!! Now there's something to shoot for, eh??

Hey, did you see Survivor, last night? And I really liked Burton until he made those mean-spirited remarks... and what was with John's little thing about the 'girls barely sharing one brain...'? Shocking to see that Sexist Thinking is alive and well and on National TV!! Even Dwight was all excited when the 'Girls' finally voted off 'One of the Men'! And I think I'm coming around for Sandra -- although I don't care for the 'vengeance' trait that seems so very strong in her personality. Survivor is a Very Interesting Study in Human Personality and Motivations. And, of course, the Beaches are great, too!! And Jeff Probst ain't bad, either!! ha,ha,ha,ha!

Tip of the Day: When you're Prepping Your House when You're Ready to Sell It, make sure you walk around the house with an 'Objective Eye'... This is the time to remove the fifty extra pictures on the wall -- Simple and Uncluttered is best. Unless your House has a Gallery, but that's a whole other story!! We actually have an entire Wall Area that would make an excellent Gallery -- that's funny (and lucky!!)!

Clear off The Island, if you have one, and make sure that any 'disturbing' material is hidden away -- this is not the time to display your Vintage Porn Collection!! Hope that word doesn't lock me out of AOL 9.0!! We've been in some Houses that have some pretty shocking stuff around, which we think is hilarious -- you want to make your House as Nice as Possible to as many people as possible. The last thing you want to do is offend a potential Buyer, right??

And even if you think all the piles and piles of papers in the Living Room look great, and are there because one day maybe you'll read them, get them out of there, too. Just box it all up and hide it in the Garage or the Storage Area. Or just get rid of it ... that's always an option! You can use this Opportunity to 'Lighten Your Load', since you clearly intend to move, anyway, and get a bunch of stuff that you don't use anymore and Give It to a Local Charity.

Oh, speaking of Charity, I was on Ellen Degeneres's's's' (Think 'Homer'!!) Website the other day (to tell her about the 'Giving Tree' Party Idea -- where all you Party Guests can Bring a Gift for a Child, in case you're new to the Site!!), and she had a link to www.toysfortots.org . On Ellen's Show, today (I never miss it, I love it so much!), and she was saying that They are Down by 100,000 Toys, so they are in great need of lots of new Toys... You can Give On-Line, or you can take a Toy (or Toys) to any of their Drop-Off Locations. It's a great time to Give!!

These are pictures of the Garbage Compactor, partly because it's a cool item in the house, and partly because I just changed the Bags this morning! I know, you wish you could spend as much time as I do cleaning, changing the Garbage, and other exciting things like that ... well, dry your tears and just keep reading!! ha,ha,ha!

Garbage Compactors are a little Pricey to put in, but they're really worth it if you happen to live in the country, or you want to have very few bags of garbage to remove... It's cute, though, isn't it? Very Compact, so-to-speak! That's just a tiny portion of my kitchen, in case you were wondering. I think it extends another 20 feet to the Right, and about another 10 feet to the West (Left?? Who knows!!). Anyway, it's a nice size Kitchen with a lot of neat Gadgets!

Here's a little 'Garbage Compactor Tip': You don't have to buy the 'special bags' that come with your Garbage Compactor -- you can just 'Double Bag it' (like a really bad Date...yuff, yuff!), by using Two Normal Garbage Bags, and you'll be fine. And try to Change the Bags out every week to two weeks -- we went for waaaaaay too long when we first got it, because it just kept squishing everything down, so the bag was close to 70 pounds when Dwight finally removed it!! We'll try not to do that again!! ha,ha,ha!

Thursday, December 11th. Hello, Daaaarling!! Baby-Cakes! How goes your day? We're all full of Shakespeare around here, because Cara's Play, Coriolanus, is playing all week at her High School. Cara attends a Fine Arts High School with a great Drama Program -- she was warning me about 'the fight scene' that she's in, so I don't storm the Stage and take down the kid who has to go after 'her Character'!! I told her I was familiar with Shakespeare and his great need to have his Characters attacking one another... You know what was really cool about the High School I used to Teach in when I lived in Los Angeles? It was right around the corner from this gorgeous Park with a really Old Library of Sorts (not a regular Library....), and that Building actually housed Archived Works of Shakespeare. I used to go there all the time for Lunch and assorted 'other things'! ha,ha,ha!

I can hear Dwight poking around upstairs, so I better go see what he's up to -- be right back!!

Well, that took me waaaay longer than I anticipated. The Glass Guys from Geinow Windows came over to replace a Couple of Windows that had 'Pressure Cracks' in them -- that happens sometimes in New Homes, particularly the ones with gigantic windows -- that's us!! Thanks to Blake Ritchie and Adrian Laroche for doing such a great job of replacing the Window Panes so efficiently! I was amazed at the process -- I wondered if the whole Frame would have to come out, but they just remove the exact piece of Glass that's cracked and replace the pane. (Sounds like a simple solution to an annoyink marriage, too -- just remove the cracked part and replace it with a new one! ha,ha,ha,ha!)

I took lots of pictures of the Process, so I think I'll try to reinstall that annoyink Videowave III, today, to see if it'll let me work on it! Ugh. Can't stand software that sucks!! I'll love it again, as soon as I get it to work for me!! Sounds familiar!! yuff,yuff!

Aidan is spending a fair bit of the day in the Bathroom -- you don't want to know why!! Ah, well. That's Life with a Boy!! But it's a huuuuge Bathroom, has a great view of the Big Screen Downstairs, is within 25 feet of me (I'm in my Office, as always...), and he's got all sorts of toys and a Child's Couch in there, too. And the Steam Room is in that Bathroom -- Aidan is particularly fond of playing in there!

Well, Dwight has finally agreed to have an Open House this Weekend! WooHoo! I really think it's time for the House to go on the Market. I have a few plans up my sleeve, but one plan is to buy a nice (but smaller) home in Okotoks close to Cara's School, then keep the Equity from this House in the Bank until we find another Piece of Land we would want to Build on... we'll see how things go. That is a very practical way to Build on Your Own -- 'Buying Down' does not mean 'Buy Something Crappy'! It can easily take a good Two Years to Find a Piece of Land, Decide and Get Your House Plans, Get the Permits, then Build the House, so might as well have somewhere comfy to live during that Process, right?

Initially, we thought we'd Rent during that 'In-Between' time, then we realized that if we bought in a nice area, especially a Brand New Area, the House Prices will often go up a lot higher (and that increase in Equity can go directly toward the Next House, and before you know it, you're Mortgage Free!!), and we might as well make some more money in the form of Equity while we're waiting... we hate wasting time and not making money!! Or is that just meeeee?? ha,ha,ha,ha!

I need to call the Newspapers to get our Ads in for Sunday -- that's a good day for an Open House -- and we'll have it from 1:00 - 6:00pm. That gives lots of Potential Buyers time to pop out to see us. The 2:00 - 4:00 thing never works for us, and I figure that I've gone to the bother of Prepping the House, so why not have the Open House a lot longer? And if you're wondering whether this is a good time of the Year to Sell a House, any time is a good time, because there's a Buyer for Every House. People Buy Houses at all sorts of different times, so you can Put Your House on the Market any time you want to. Spring and Summer are the typical times to Market our Property, but if you're in-between, you don't have to wait if you really don't want to... Oh, and we Sold our Last House at this time of the Year -- this exact Weekend, in fact!! Maybe I feel it's a 'Lucky Weekend'!!

I think I'll create a Special Page on the Site for the House Sale. I'll let you know when I get that made. I better go work on the Ads for the Newspaper so I can get them in on time.

Tip of the Day: When you're Writing Your Advertisement for the Newspapers or the Internet, make sure you write a Good, Clear, Concise Ad. And always, always put the Price in the Ad. There's no point in a misleading Ad -- they're expensive, and you might as well put accurate information out there so that the people who come to see your House can actually Afford it. You will always have 'Lookie Looks', which I have no problem with, since it's always good to Dream, even if the House is out of your League at the moment -- maybe it's a Home for the Future!!

Oh, and make up a Great Hand-Out Sheet with a nice selection of Interior and Exterior Pictures and some Information about Your Home. It's great to give to all the People who come to See Your House. Then when they're on the way home, they can have a good look at your Place and remember what they saw. It's a Good Selling Tool!

I love these Early Pictures -- it's so much fun to see where the House 'used to be'! Doesn't the Vault look cool? We hired Bryce from Elite Drywall for all of the Drywall -- they're great!

See all the Insulation in the Ceiling? I should see if I can find more of those Pictures, 'cause they look neat!

Check out the Scaffolding -- you can just keep adding to it to make it any height you want...Dwight has a bunch of it, too, for when they're doing Ceiling Work.

The key to really nice Walls is the Drywalling and Taping. You definitely want to get a great Taper, so Word-of-Mouth is a good way to find one. Or if you know a Local Contractor, you can ask them who they like -- that's always a good bet.

Thanks for Swingin' By for a Wee Visit! I really appreciate any Site Support from My Readers, so if you see an Ad that appeals to you, please go ahead and 'Click On'!! Hey, that could be my new 'Catch Phrase'!

We are excited to announce AHA's, American Homeowners Association, new program. AHA is a membership program designed around saving consumers both time and money. In order to make it easy for consumers to try AHA, we offer all potential members a FREE gift just for signing up for a 30 day FREE trial.

Now for MY Words! This is a pretty cool Offer I thought you'd like -- this can always be Gift for Someone, or just keep it for yourself, which is exactly what I would do!! ha,ha,ha! Just tell your friends and they can get their own for free!

Wednesday, December 10th. Hi, Honey! You're 'Home'!! And it's soooo lovely to see you, again! Your ears aer looking very symmetrical, today -- and that's a very good thing!! ha,ha,ha! (Asymmetrical Ears -- that ain't good!) So if you meet up with someone today, and you're struggling to find a relatively true Compliment, you can use my 'Ear Acknowledgement' ... you can't go wrong with that...and if the ears are heavily weighted down with a variety of metals and such, you can add, "And, say, are those Five New Earrings? You are looking stunning!..." You can chortle later, but you should maintain a straight face at the time. Friendly advice -- it's so very useful! ha,ha,ha!

Dwight's on his way out the door -- better go say goodbye to him! Be right back!

Well I'm baa-aack! And Dwight was all mad because I didn't wake him up three times -- I only woke him up once. I said it's time for him to be a real Adult, but he says,"I can't!!" Yes, I see that... Have you noticed that when you're Married, you each develop a tendency to rely heavily on the other one to do something you would normally have done all on your own? For Dwight, I'm the Human Alarm Clock (Cook, Maid, All-round Slave... whatevah!...), and I feel it is Dwight's job to do any driving, whatsoever, at night. I'm livid if I have to do any night driving at all. Now if I were Single (let's just say...), I'd have no issue with Driving at Night -- of course, I'd also live in a much Warmer Climate, and not be battling any Snow!! But still, it's weird how you can become so dependent on another person.

Tip of the Day: You know how we put the Christmas Lights on the Trees outside on the Weekend? Well, Dwight was telling me that you should always use the Shortest, thickest Extension Cord possible for the Lights. Then he went on (an on..) to say that the same thing applies to using Power Tools. If you use an Extension Cord that is too long, it can burn out the Motor on your Power Tools, so you definitely want to be careful with that!

It's kinda fun to look at the 'Beginning' of the House! Aidan always used to bring out his bucket and spade to build castles with the Dirt (there was a lot of dirt!!), and then you can see what the Basic Framing of the Beautiful Great Room looked like -- cool, eh?

Tuesday, December 9th. Hey, Sweet Thing! How you doin'?? I cannot believe how December is flying by ... man, there's always soooo much to do in this Month! Oh, speaking of 'Things to Do', Dwight actually Tiled the Fireplace Surround yesterday Afternoon -- Yipee!! He came home early and just started in on it -- and he was done by about 9:00p.m., which was a very useful day! The Fireplace looks fabulous! As soon as I get my Videowave III fixed, I'll post the new pictures for you...

I was thinking about different ways you could change the look of your Fireplace, and I remembered that you can Tile Right over Brick. I'll make that my Tip of the Day! It's amazing the difference it can make in your Room when the Fireplace Changes into something spectacular! Dwight is beginning to agree that a Mantel would be nice -- so I'll Draw out my Design, again, for him to peruse to see if he'll do it. It's always worth a shot!

There was a Full Moon this morning (and obviously last night... ha,ha!), and it is very, very cold, so oddly enough, that makes for a gorgeous combination! Surprising, isn't it? So I ran outside with my Video Camera to get some pictures of the House with the Christmas Lights on -- it looks sooo pretty! And all the Trees are covered in Pure White Frost, so everything is sparkling. That's the upside of living in a Cold Climate! The thing about the Full Moon is that it casts a beautiful Light on everything, which is quite unusual, so it's great to capture that to Film, so-to-speak... I hardly ever use a 'Real Camera' with Film 'n all -- I much prefer a Digital Camera.

You know how I was saying that our New Garage Door Guy (the fellow from the Company we bought it from...) was coming over, yesterday? Well, what a nice guy -- he completely fixed the Garage Door -- the Belt was way too loose -- I thought so, and so did Dwight, but it was good for a Service Technician to agree and actually fix it. And he even showed me how to Program the Door Opener from Outside -- we couldn't find the Instructions and had pretty much given up on it.

If you're stuck with your Garage Door Opener Pad, it looks like it's fairly Generic. Try punching Program then 8 -- that erases any initial Code (or the Code from a Previous Owner, if you've just moved into a new place...). It looked like he was keying in 357 Send, but I'll have to clarify that ... anyway, you should be able to Input your new number, then press Send. That should work!

And it turned out that it was the Door Sensors (the little Red and Green Lights at the Bottom of the Automatic Garage Door), so Keith fixed that, too. He was saying that the Sensors should have no problem 'Reading Each Other' (unlike a marriage -- ha,ha,ha,ha!) if they are installed correctly. Sounds like this is a fairly common problem, so if you have a bother with your Automatic Garage Door Opener, check that out, first. There's a Code that says the Sensors have to be 6" off the Floor, so if you have more than one Garage Door, and all the Sensors are at the same height, you got some trouble!! I would be inclined to have the Installer raise the Second (or if you're lucky enough to have a whole pile of Garage Doors...!) set of Sensors up a little, so they won't Cross Paths. That makes sense to me...

So it turns out the Keith Thomson, the Garage Door Technician (I'm not sure that's the right Title -- I'll have to ask him!) is also a Junior Hockey League Coach. Isn't that a nice thing to do? He has some really great Tips for Hockey Coaches, so I said to him that maybe we could do a Hockey Section on my Site -- why not?? We all have a huuuuuge variety of interests, don't we? And he's a great Technician, so I'll need to get his info and put it on the Business & Classified Page.

Of course, I can't let an Opportunity go past me (!), so I told him about The Buffs and what a great Fundraiser they are for Sports Teams, and he's going to be my 'Lead Man'... You can be, too...If you know a Team, School, Group, Company -- anyone with a Logo -- who might like to Get the Buffs with their Team Colors and their Own Logo on the Buffs, drop me a line. I'm always happy to 'Share the Wealth'!! You can write to me at buildyourownhouse@hotmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you -- tell me about yourself, too, so I can get to know My Readers better!! So that's what Keith is going to do, on top of his Technician Work.

Hey, is Star Jones from The View seeing Bob the Bachelor?? Hmmmm...that would prove that you can find True Love on TV -- just on different Shows!! ha,ha,ha! Now how much would the Networks pay for that Wedding?? I've been watching The View since it's very first Episode (I cannot believe I've been home soooo long!!), and they kept me sane and informed over all these years, so it's like a friend finding True Love, if that is the case.

Tip of the Day: Okay, so here's how you would Tile over a Brick Fireplace. Remember from the other day that you can always just Paint the Brick, but Tiling over the Brick with a Marble or Granite Tile can be stunning. If you prefer a more matte look, you can pop into your local Tile Shop to see if there's a Ceramic Tile that appeals to you. And there are a lot of gorgeous Ceramic Tiles that look like Marble, which are fabulous and easy to work with.

Tile is one of my favorite products for Home Development and Renovations because it's relatively inexpensive and creates an incredible look. Save money and look great -- sounds like a good motto for Life!! ha,ha,ha!

Here's How to Do It, so to speak...ha,ha,ha! Anyhoooo, you can cover the entire Brick area with Mortar and fill in all the crevices, and you can adhere the Tile Directly to the Mortar. Work on a small space at a time -- you would not want to get too far ahead of yourself and then the Mortar would dry...that ain't good!! I would work with the amount of space you would need for Two Tiles at a time, so the size would be dependent on the size of the Tile. If you have a huge Fireplace, try the really enormous new tiles, but generally, a 12" Tile will work really well. Oh. One of the keys to making this Tiled Fireplace look great is to keep the Grout Lines very small -- maybe a 1/16th" -- 1/8th" on the very outside. Just looks better that way.

Now, Dwight and I disagree (there's a big surprise!! ha,ha,ha!) on whether you should Grout with the Fireplace Tile. I say, Yes, absolutely, and Dwight says it doesn't matter (as opposed to "It don't matter much..." Ugh, that's just painful to mine ears...har, har!), since the Grout, in his estimation, is to prevent liquid and stuff from getting in between the Tiles, whereas I believe that the Grout exists for both Aesthetic Reasons (it just looks better!) and to prevent moisture or whatever icky thing from getting in there... Now our Fireplace Surround Tile is Emerald Pearl Granite Tile (it's pretty pricey -- generally you can get it for $27.00/Tile, so if you see a better deal than that, scoop it up! The Pearl Granite is the most expensive, but I love the Glimmer!), so I think I've convinced Dwight that we could use Black Grout, so you'll barely see it. We've used a Forest Green everywhere else this Granite Tile is in the House.

The other way to Tile over your Existing Brick Fireplace is to Sheet it with Plywood, but I would only do that if the Mortar Method didn't work...

These are two pictures of 'The Family Bath' -- really, the Childrens' Bathroom -- I adore the Shower Curtain in there -- I got it at Linens 'N Things, and it's one of the most beautiful Shower Curtains I've ever see, so of course I immediately bought it and put it up! And it looks great!!

The Third Picture is from the Front Entry Bathroom -- see the set of 4 Framed Pictures? They're gorgeous! And guess how I made them? Some great Frames from WalMart (they have a great selection...) with some beautiful pictures from an old Calendar. We're almost at the end of this Year, so don't be too quick to throw out your old Calendars -- have a look through to see which pictures would look good, framed. And because most Calendars are Themed, it's easy to create a 'Set' for your Walls ... just get all Matching Frames and you'll be all 'set' in no time!! ha,ha!

Thanks for coming by for a wee visit!! See you tomorrow. Bring a Friend (even the obnoxious one ... that way they won't be able to say you never take them anywhere...ha,ha,ha,ha!)!

It's the Season for Shopping, so why not get a few more Deals? Here's a good Link for Deals for Stores and Restaurants.

Monday, December 8th. Hi, Honey-Babe!! Did you have a great Weekend?? We finally got outside to get some Christmas Lights up -- they look gorgeous! We put the Tiny Lights on all the Outside Trees along the Front of the House, then Colored Lights on the Two Trees on either side of the Front Entry. Very pretty. It took me a long time to convince Dwight that that would look good -- he suddenly has become a 'Designer of Lights', up from not wanting any Lights up at all... but when you want a job done, you have to work with the workers... and that be Dwight! ha,ha,ha!

So Aidan, our 4 year old, got into the Christmas Gifts, yesterday. Yes, it was a big shock -- who saw that coming?? Dwight had a big fit about it, but I remended him later (after he was calm...) that Aidan is 4, and it's not the worst thing in the world that he opened a present meant for him... plus, that crazy Dwight kept bringing Aidan over to see me in their Cart (we were shopping together at Costco -- Dwight and Aidan with one Cart, Cara and I with the other...), so of course Aidan saw all the stuff I got for him. I'm thinking that Aidan will just be one of those kids who find out about Santa early... when we went through that transition with Cara, I just explained that 'Santa' is a lovely notion of Love and Giving, and she was okay with that, so we just continued on with Santa!

Dwight wanted to put a lock on my Gift-Wrapping Room (lots of the presents are in there), but I feel like Aidan needs to learn what he can touch and what he has to leave alone... it's an important lesson, and one I want him to learn. I don't want him to get the message that if it's not locked down, it's open territory -- that not be good, as Christmas Org would say!! ha,ha,ha!

Were you watching TV last night? Have you had an opportunity to catch Arrested Develpoment, yet? It's hilarious! Ron Howard does the Voice Over, and the writing and Acting are fabulous. It's part of the Sunday Night Line-Up -- The Simpsons (you know I love The Simpsons -- and I'll love them even more when they buy my Scripts!! ha,ha,ha!), Bernie Mac (thrilled to see his Show back...), Malcolm in the Middle, then Arrested Development. It's a great Line Up on a cold winter night!!

I just got a call from Dwight and the Garage Door Guy is apparently on his way -- I hope this is the end of these visits -- it's a brand new Door, rarely used (because we used the Garage as a Workshop for pretty much the whole first year we were here... and we still use it as a Workshop, there's so much extra Finishing Work to do in a House this big... it's about 5400 square feet, Fully Developed.

Let me post this part, then see how much I can get done before the Guy gets here...

Here are some shots of the Attached Garage through the Building Process. It's all Drywalled, Painted and Heated, so it has a lovely Finish. The Garage alone is bigger than our last house! See how you can 'Move Up' when you Build It Yourself!! ha,ha,ha!

And these are the Brand New Doors... that's Dwight putting the Border around the Edge of the Garage Doors. That's the bit that I painted White earlier this Fall -- looks great -- if I could ever get someone to take MY picture, I'd post it, but so far, no luck! Maybe one of my Faithful Readers could help me out!! ha,ha!

There's Aidan working away in the Workshop Portion of the Garage! He's a real 'Wee Man', and refuses to use 'Stupid Baby Tools', he says!! And that's Dwight's Rider Lawn Mower in the Background, along with assorted Lumber 'n stuff...

This is the Canadian Tire Link -- they have a new Drill Bit Sharpener that Dwight is beside himself with excitement about -- so if you, or someone you know, also gets very excited about Drill Bit Sharpeners, here's the place to buy them! ha,ha,ha! This is where I bought all the Guardian Locks that we have on every door in the house (Exterior Doors...) to keep Aidan in and anyone else out...), and the Pop-Up Registers that will increase your Energy Efficiency to Heat or Cool Your House by at least 25%, which is significant!

Canadian Tire has a whole line of very cool Tools and Gadgets for around the house -- and tons of other cool stuff. And if you're in The States, you'll get the 'Canadian Discount of about 25%', thanks to our Canadian Dollar!! And if you find you need a Canadian Postal Code to 'get in' (you shouldn't, but just in case...), you can use mine -- T1V 1Z1. That'll work!!

Sunday, December 7th. Hello, Darling! Man, you're looking lovely, today! Are your Eyes sparkling, or are they Pure Glass?? ha,ha! At the most, you maybe have one Glass Eye... One way or another, I don't want you to glaze over like I do when Dwight starts in with the Plumbing details! har, har!

Have you started your Holiday Shopping, yet? We were out at Costco to get a good handle on our Christmas Shopping, then I'll do the rest on-line. Do you know it's much less expensive to buy on-line than it is to go into the Store? You know why? It's because when you go int the Store, you see a million things you instantly feel you must buy. I call it the 'Gotta Have It' Syndrome...and I got it, Baby!! I'm endlessly amazed at the few people who can walk out of Costco with 2 or 3 little Items! How do they do that?? We can't seem to get out of the store without Two Full Shopping Carts -- ah, well. I'll put that down to the Party and Christmas...

Anyway, the rest of the stuff I'll buy on-line (through My Site, of course!! And I really hope you do your Holiday Shopping through me, too!!). I tend to go straight to the Products I'm looking for, or browse through a bunch of Sites until I find something really unique and cool, and not buy any pies or cakes along the way!! ha,ha!

You know the Gifts I was telling you about giving to the Needy Families in our Town? Well, it dawned on my last night (about 2:00 am when I was working on my Site!) that I had missed a really large gift for the Donation. I put 2 and 2 together and remembered that Aidan had said to me quite casually the HE was a 'needy child', and I had told him that all the Gifts were for children who really needed the toys... well, wouldn't you know it? I asked Aidan in the morning if he could quickly run and get any gifts we might have missed to take them into the children, and he ran to his room and brought out three more presents...! That Boy! He's a little trickster...! So I got them all back, and I'll take them in, tomorrow...

We're in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and we've had a lot of Road Constructuion, lately. A brand new Freeway just opened up a few miles from our House, which does wonders for making our Commute much faster (WooHoo!). Well, we took the new road to Costco, today, and it shaved 25 minutes off the drive because the road by-passes the City... it's a beautiful new road (yep, we love roads!!), and the Views from the Road are spectacular, especially down by the River. So of course all I could think of was the Future Housing Developments that will be sure to shoot up around the new road! Can't wait!

Here's an extra little Tip for you -- whenever you see a new roadway go in, watch carefully for new Developments to crop up, then go see if there's some Land you can Buy in there... You might even consider moving from your current home into a Brand New one -- the Home Values shoot right up in Brand New Developments! (YaaHoo! That's a great way to make a big pile of money! Which reminds me -- Aidan has been going around these days with a handful of coins, saying he's "Filthy Stinking Rich!!" Isn't that hilarious?! I bet he will be, too, what with all the personal positive affirmations, 'n all!! ha,ha,ha!)

Tip of the Day: Today's Tip is a Parenting Tip, but really you can use this through-out your life... Whenever you need to know the Truth of a Matter, or need absolute compliance ("Could you run and get me those Toys, please??"...), use a quiet voice, and talk as calmly and rationally as you possibly can. Trust me, this is a learned behaviour, but it'll get you far better results than immediately going down the 'screaming loonie' path! ha,ha! Sometimes it's next to impossible to pull this off, but try it a few times and see if it works for you.

You know one of the key 'people' this works for -- Tia, our little dog!! ha,ha,ha! She's a nervous we thing, and if she's been a bad girl, and she knows it, shell immediately do 'a widdle' all over the floor when you even walk toward her to give her a row! (A 'row' -- ryhmes with 'cow' -- is a Scottish Word for 'getting into trouble' or 'a scolding') So we've learned from Tia to talk gently and get her to understand -- otherwise, we'd be running after her with our bottle of Oxy-Clean and a towel!!

Oh, and in case I haven't mentioned it, already, Oxi-Clean really does eliminate any 'Pet Messes' or any other Stains -- it's the most amazing Cleaning Product on the Market, bar none. I would never be without it! I keep a big Tub of it in my Laundry Room, and make up Spray Bottles that can easily be grabbed for an 'Emergency Spill'.You know what's funny? Dwight is a total Clean Freak, and he was beside himself that someone was going to spill on the carpet at the party, last weekend. Well, someone did spill -- can you guess who it was? That's right -- Dwight! He's surprisingly forgiving with himself, though ... what would make him really mad if someone else did it is completely okay if Dwightie does it!! Aidan and Dwight -- they're two peas in a pod!! ha,ha,ha!

Here's Aidan, Tia and Dwight -- that's Tia's look when she thinks she's in trouble! Isn't she cute?? ha,ha,ha! That's Aidan and Dwight in our Master Bedroom looking through the Sunroom. The Third picture is of the Three of them out in the Garden -- that's actually the View from the Sundeck and the South and Front of the House. I couldn't get that in the shot from the other day... so here it is, now!

Oh, and you can really see the Berber Carpet, too! Berber is very easy to live with, and particularly easy to clean, on the off-chance that somebody spills on your carpet!

Hi! This is a very useful Program -- I had the worst Worm in my computer in the summer, and this is a good source to ward against losing your material on your computer... :)