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A Wee Bit About Ailsa

Here I am with my sweet little dog, Tia! Man, this picture is oldie-schmoldie! (Not me, though, I not moldy at all! haha!) If you really want to see what I look like now, and you canny wait much longer for me to figure out how to put the new pictures on my site, I have a picture on Facebook -- search Ailsa Forshaw, and on classmates.com, too... good luck with that! And then come on back in! lol! :)

I'll tell you a wee bit about me, the Author of this Site, Ailsa Forshaw. Well, I was born in Glasgow, Scotland and immigrated to Canada when I was two and a half (with my Parents -- not all by myself!), lived in the Quinte Region of Ontario, Canada for the main part of my youth, then went to Queen's University to become a Teacher. I have Two Degrees from Queen's University (a Bachelor of Arts & a Bachelor of Education), which I had earned just as I turned 21, which I thought was really old at the time! ha,ha,ha! Man, what was I thinking??

I started out teaching Adult Literacy and the K to 3 group (Kindergarten to Grade Three for the non-parents out there!). That was really fun, but those really little kids didn't get all my jokes, so I needed an older audience! ha,ha,ha! My students got older and older, eventually leading me to teach at the College Level at DeVry. I looove teaching. I even had a stint in California teaching Special Education to Severely Handicapped 'youth' -- aged 12 to 22. That was wonderful -- I have a soft spot for anyone who really needs help... They kept me bolstered up during a particularly tough time of my life. My students would wheel their way over to me in their wheel chairs to put their arm around me to see if I was okay. How sweet is that?? They really helped put it all in perspective. Plus, I made lots of wonderful friends down there in Los Angeles, and learned the most valuable lesson of my life -- 'Work to Live, not Live to Work'.

I grew up in the East-ish, where people tend to run around like crazy ants, working their behinds off. In California, I learned how to relax and take it a little slower. I also learned -- from my friends at Twentieth Century Fox -- that you could earn over $125,000.00 a year, and that it was not a crime or a sin...that's when I became a little Capitalist, and left my Socialist self behind! You can be rich and nice! I've got the nice thing down, now I just need to work on the 'rich' part! ha,ha,ha!

I had to return to Ontario (horrible circumstances demanded it) where I really got into Weight Lifting, again. I needed something to keep my mind off all the crap that was happening. I discovered a little exercise that I did a lot that will probably prevent me from ever having cellulite, so I'll share that with you, some time... I also had the opportunity to meet Ben Johnson, who lived down the block from my wonderful friend, Kim (and her lovely family!). I happened to be writing Spec Scripts for The Simpsons, at the time, so I asked him if I could put him in a script, and he asked me out...Long story short, I wrote the Script (and two more for The Simpsons... if anybody out there knows an agent, I need one, badly....ha, ha,ha!), got to know Ben better, and that's where I learned about the whole Real Estate thing.

I met Dwight when I came out to Calgary for a much needed respite from the crap (quick apology to Barbara Walters -- I know she hates the word 'crap', but it really does apply very accurately here!) I was dealing with in Ontario, and a good friend of mine took me to a Psychic. I'd never been to one before, but she was amazing! I walked away from her home with renewed hope for a better future. I met Dwight the next night, didn't have a ring on my finger from anyone else (that's right -- Ben...), so I agreed to have dinner with Dwight, and the rest is history! (The moral of this story is that if you think someone is right for you, especially a girl like me(!), for God's Sake get a Ring on her Finger before she meets someone else who will...)

My daughter, Cara, and I moved out here a few months later, and we've all been together ever since! Romantic, ain't it?! ha,ha,ha! We got married in Santa Barbara, California (where I hope to buy land and build, some day!) and had a wee boy, Aidan. So now I have a teenager and a baby! It's actually a great mix, and they are unbelievably wonderful children! Now Dwight and I have pretty much finished building this house (it takes a long time to build something this big -- 5400 square feet -- there always seems to be something else that could be tweaked or built...). If there's anything else you want to know, just e-mail me! We'll all get to know one another better! --Ailsa

March, 2004. Wow, I guess it's been a while since wrote this -- I'm 41, now (40 and a 1, I call it!!), and Cara is almost 16, and Aidan is an active little 4 year old... Dwight and I are ready to Sell this House, move to the next 'In-Between House' (the house we'll live in while we look for another big piece of land to build on...), and I've already Drawn Out the next Style, unless we go with one of Two other Styles I like... or other Choices are made... one never knows what the Future may hold, especially ME, it seems!! ha,ha!

Steve, my old Webmaster, is long gone -- I got him to teach me how to manage my own Website in May of 2003 (I was very nervous about that, since I wasn't sure I could 'get my head around the knowledge', but my wonderful friend, Araya, whom I taught beside at DeVry, said he knew I could do it, and I got my courage to Learn something new from him! Thanks, Araya!! See how important a Support System is??) So I spent every waking minute studying everything I could find about running a website, then by the time Steve came over to teach me all the info, I already knew the terminology so I wasn't completely lost... then it took about an hour for me to learn everything I needed to know to manage my own Site, and I've been off and running since then! Thanks Steve!! He's off to Toronto to pursue his Big Comedy Career, and we wish him all the success in the world!

So I took the Site from about 35 Visitors a Week last May, to 20,000 Visits per Month in July and August, then thanks to my Fabulous Site Readers, who told everyone they knew about my little Site, I took an even bigger leap to 80,000 Site Visits per month...now I'm up around 100,000 Visits per month, and growing steadily! Ain't that great for a little 'Newbie'?? ha,ha! I'm very happy about that. I just need to figure out how to get my wonderful and supportive Readers to click on the Ads so I can make some mooollllaaa!! ha,ha!

A huge amount of 'New' and 'Return Traffic' came when I started my Daily Update, At Home With Ailsa, which I love to write -- it's a great way for me to stay in touch with the world and to share some good information and a whole bunch of laughs -- not to mention New Pictures every so often, now that I'm too busy to get new pictures every day.

And then I'm always working to Improve My Site -- Adding New Pages, Trying to Figure out how different things work -- right now I need to figure out how to get a Side Bar on my HomePage -- my Daughter, Cara, tells me I used to have one when the Site first started (I did Draw it out on Paper, back in the day, like that...), so I can improve Site Navigation. It has become a reallu juge site, since my Site reflects my Interests and Abilities, and is a great medium for me to share all sorts of Info with My Readers that I think will be beneficial to yo' lives!!

Oh, and when you pop in to see Cara's Page, I have Cara and Tia (our cute little dog who is almost 7...!) on my Buffwear Page, because I have a Wholesale Connection for the Buffs like the wear on Survivor that I want to Share with my Readers, and Cara & Tia are the cutest and least expensive Models who happened to be willing to be on that Page! Cara wants to get into Acting in a big way, so she's happy to get her face 'out there'!! (If you're an Agent, Call Me!! ha,ha!)

April, 2005. Man, yet another year has passed since I've been in here. I'm 42, now, and oddly enough feel closer to 50 than to 40 -- go figure. And speaking of my Figure, I think about it all the time, now. A little annoying! I never really used to think about it very much, but now I have this huuuge obsession that I want to look great in ten years, and the same in twenty years ... it goes on from there, but you get the picture. It's all very realistic, I'm sure. I'll be 80, desperately trying to look 40... Ah, well. Gotta go -- Dwight's home, and he still hates it when I'm on the computer ... Oh, I know. You're jealous of my lucky, lucky life, and you wish you could be here to clean the toilets and hurry up and feed some adults who could clearly fend for themselves... whatevah'! That's my life, for now! See ya', Baby! Ailsa

December, 2006. Okay, so hadn't realized it's been sooo long since I've been in to update my Bio page... I'm 43, now, and living in Los Angeles. Lovely and warm down here, and yes, I left my marriage. Still great friends with Dwight, though, so it's all good. Trying to figure out how exactly to be Single, since it's all new to me, again. So far, so good. And lots of fun stuff to do in L.A., so loving that! Pop into my Update page to see what all we've been up to -- I don't have as much time to get to it as I did, before, since I'm Teaching, again (sooo much fun, since I have my favorite Special Ed Class...Community Based Instruction with High School Students), but I'll try to get in when I can. As always, I have an eye out for Building Opportunities... may have to move up, down or over, mapwise, to buy land in California! I'll keep you posted, Baby!

You can pop in to my Update Page -- At Home With Ailsa. I know. Catchy Title!

Ailsa's Blog: Check it, Baby! (Yes, think Ali G...!) I just created a profile in myspace.com, so come in and see me. Maybe this is how I will actually be able to do a Blog, since I never did figure that out on my Site! http://www.myspace.com/89837190

Ailsa's Favorites * At Home with Ailsa * Ask Ailsa * Ailsa's Biography * Ailsa's Scottish Diet * Ailsa's Favorite Books - * NEW Scottish Steak Pie! * - How I Got Started...

Contact Me at buildyourownhouse@hotmail.com

Ailsa Forshaw -- Professional Resume

Site Menu * Full Site Menu

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Ailsa's Favourite Books--once a teacher, always a teacher!

I put together a bunch of Books that I have been handing out as gifts to friends all these years. Remember, if you don't care for any swearing, you're going to want to stay away from the Rabbit Run Series, but these are some of my all-time favorite books...books that you just can't wait for your break at work to get reading, again... Now that's a Good Book!

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You can get a great Selection of Books through my Amazon Page, my Overstock.com Page, the Book Page, and my Gifts for Women -- lots of Shopping! I order books and magazines online all the time -- it's easy and convenient for me, and frankly, it saves me a big pile of money because I only buy what I went in for, as opposed to when I go into a real Store and buy everything I don't need!

I just added a wee bit about how I came to Learn the Computer and Write this Build Your Own House website!

Tell a Friend about My Site

This started out as primarily a Building Website, then I just added in whatever else happened to appeal to me, so now it's an enormous Site with The Scottish Diet & Exercise Tips (Complete Body Workout At Home and The Best Anti-Cellulite Exercise, ever...), Recipes and all sorts of things, so check the Site Menu to see what's in here -- you might be surprised!

Come in and see me (Ailsa Forshaw ) 'At Home With Ailsa' for My Weekly Update, with Home Improvement Tips, Great Building & Construction Ideas, Family & Relationship Chat, TV Talk -- All Sorts of Stuff to Make Your Whole Life Better(!) -- and, of course, Lots of Laughs!!

Check out Ask Ailsa for The Answers to All Your Building, Construction, Real Estate, Family or 'Other' Questions!

This is a great link if you also a Writer, or interested in becoming a Writer... it's through the WGA (Writers Guild of America). http://www.wga.org/mentors/BestMentor.html

Check this one out for Screenwriting ... http://www.screenwriting.com/

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< >Oh, I looove Spongebob Squarepants and Puppies! And Waterfalls! Check out Screensavers.com for an incredible selection of Free Screensavers. I'm sure you'll find something you'll love, too!

Site Menu * Webmasters * SHOPPING * Great Freebies!

Check out Overstock.com for Anything You Could Possibly Hope to Find

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Did you notice a slight difference in my size from the first picture to the second one? Yes, that's about a year and 30 pounds! But Tia loves me the same no matter what I look like, and I love her -- there's nothing like the love you have for your wee Pet, is there?? If you want to see how I lost the weight, Click Here.

Recipes -- Cheesecake ,Cinnamon Buns, Salsa Chicken , Macaroni Salad ,Chicken Noodle Soup, Taco Spaghetti , Easy Pie Crust , Creamy Peach Pie , Great BBQ Marinade , 'Pass da' Pasta, Rosemary Steak, Onion Barley (an Aphrodisiac!), Stuffed Green Peppers, Fruit Puffs , BBQ Veggies, Apple Crumble for One , Barbequed Meatballs, Everything Else

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