About Leeds County, ON

Here's Day 23 already . . . looking forward to attending a Christmas concert this evening put on by Dreams in Motion Performing and Fine Arts School , a not-for-profit local organization that promotes artistic endeavours for all ages. This is a group that I support because of what they bring to the children of this community - the chance to dream big and enjoy themselves. They survive on donations alone and times are tough in this community with factories closing and the tourist trade not what it once was. If anyone reading this would care to donate, please click on the link above - it would be most appreciated!

I decided to share a laugh with a joke I found funny and was touched to have our very own Bo Hussung write this comment:

Susan, I am going to accept this post as your gift today....thanks

Bo

11/28/2008 12:33 PM

by Bo Hussung/ National Title Agent (Cogent Closing Associates)

This was the joke and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did :0)

I just want to thank all of you for your educational e-mails over the past year. Thanks to you, I no longer open a public bathroom door without using a paper towel. I can't use the remote in a hotel room because I don't know what the last person was doing while flipping through the adult movie channels. I can't sit down on the hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed. I can't enjoy lemon slices in my tea or on my seafood anymore because lemon peels have been found to contain all kinds of nasty germs, including feces. I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pass-time while driving alone is picking your nose (Although cell phone usage may be taking the number one spot). Eating a Little Debbie sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of Trans-fats I have consumed over the years. I can't touch any woman's purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public bathroom. Yuck! I must send my special thanks to whoever sent me the one about poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing. Also, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason. I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time. I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program. I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa's novena has granted my every wish. I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers. I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day. Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes. Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains. I no longer can buy gasoline without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas. I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put 'Under God' on their cans. I no longer use Saran Wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face...disfiguring me for life. I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me. I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise. I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our American troops or the Salvation Army. I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for or which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore and Uzbekistan. I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe. Thanks to you, I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt. And thanks to your great advice, I can't ever pick up $5.00 dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg. I can no longer drive my car because I can't buy gas from certain gas companies! If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 pm this afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician... Have a wonderful day... Oh, by the way... A German scientist from Argentina, after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with insufficient brain activity read their e-mail with their hand on the mouse. Don't bother taking it off now, it's too late. This was shared with me recently - author unknown. If anyone knows who to give credit to, please advise. Til then, enjoy!

If you're interested in reading about the 22 days previous, please click on the links below:

DAY 1
DAY 2
DAY 3
DAY 4
DAY 5
DAY 6
DAY 7
DAY 8
DAY 9
DAY 10
DAY 11
DAY 12
DAY 13
DAY 14
DAY 15
DAY 16
DAY 17
DAY 18
DAY 19
DAY 20
DAY 21
DAY 22

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Okay, here we go with Day 5 of my 29 Days of Giving . . .

Our office is not filled with tech savvy Realtors by any stretch of the imagination and more than 7/8 of them do not have a website nor do they know how one would work. We have a new colleague who I think is going to be fantastic with a little bit of direction & training. Like most of us when we started, she is being bombarded with ideas and marketing schemes; some good, some not so good.

My advice to anyone starting out or even some of the more seasoned people, is to focus on your circle of influence. ASK everyone you know "Who do you know who may be interested in Buying or Selling in the next few months?" That is a no-brainer.

However, this particular agent is becoming overwhelmed with all the decisions that need to be made when attempting to brand yourself. Choosing business cards, slogans, flyers, postcards, all marketing really. She mentioned that she was going to meet with a web designer tomorrow to begin creating her personal website. While I silently congratulated her on creating an on-line presence, I was terrified that she was going to be taken advantage of and end up grossly overpaying for something which is now so readily available for free or close to it.

My Day 5 gift was providing her with all the info she needed to set up a FREE website immediately. We were able to look at the many templates available and work out what was going to be best for her and her market. Helping her to discover how easy it is to make professional looking flyers, etc. directly from her own website. Teaching her how to purchase a few domain names and redirect them back to certain pages of info on her new site. Basically teaching her about a whole new world that's available to her and her business.

In a way it was quite sad that she seemed surprised that another Realtor would help her with this when we are kinda in competition with each other. (We're sort of left alone to falter on our own in our office) Personally, I feel we're all in this together and anything I can do to help a colleague create a professional image, I'll do. It can only help all of us at the office when one more knowledgable and professional realtor falls under our banner. We're not in competition as we each know different people in different markets. There is more than enough business to go around!

Anyways, that is my Day 5 Gift and it really felt good to help another Realtor begin her way. We can only rise to the top with one hand stretching up to the next level whilst one hand reaching back to help someone climb up.

If you are interested in 29 Days of Giving, please feel free to click the link and learn a bit more about what is happening!

See you tomorrow,

A lovely quiet and peaceful Sunday - one of the things I enjoy most. My husband happily enjoying golf on TV. My good book in front of a cozy fire. The tantalizing smells wafting in from the kitchen teasing me with what will come in a few hours at the dining room table. The dogs sleeping at my feet after being thoroughly brushed to perfection. I couldn't get over just how fortunate I am!

My mind has been racing with the endless possibilities with these 29 days of giving. I'm a giving person by nature but I want these 29 days to be more focused. Yes, I want the spontaneity to be there instead of it having to be just one more thing on my to do list but I don't want to miss any opportunity to give in a more concentrated manner. Does this make sense?

Then it came to me: The Heart and Stroke Lottery. I normally buy 1 ticket and I've been fortunate enough to win something each year. The prizes are wonderful and it is for such a great cause:

It's your Best Odds Ever 1 in 3!

• 3 BIG Million Dollar Grand Prizes - $1 Million in Cash
• 12 fabulous vehicle and bike sets to choose from - or take the cash
• 12 cash for vacations prizes
• 74,474, Electronic, and Home & Lifestyle prizes

And 3 Big Reasons to Buy Early

• Early Bonus Car Prize - a 2009 Volkswagen Rabbit or take the cash out option instead*
• Early Bonus "Live free for a year" Prize or take the cash out option instead- tax free!
• Early Bird Prize: $300,000 cash - tax free

The important part is that the funds raised go to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

So today I decided to buy 3 tickets and give them away! I wasn't even aware that I was in time for the early bird draw which provides Free Living for a Year;

• Win $30,000 in cash to put toward your mortgage payments
• Keep your fridge full with up to $15,000 in free groceries
• Take your family on a shopping spree with a $20,000 loaded credit card
• No more car payments to worry about with a new Honda Civic Hybrid
• Gas prices won't slow you down with a $7000 gas card
  
  For Grand Total of $103,864.00

Can you imagine how out of this world it would be if one of my three tickets provided some of this?! If some deserving soul that was provided one of these tickets was to win, OMG!!!

Please tell me that some of you are joining this 29 Days of Giving Program It is just too cool for words!

See you tomorrow,

W0W - Day 3 and oh what a feeling . . . I'm dancing on the ceiling! After a busy day showing very bad low income apartment buildings, I was able to end the day on a high. I wasn't looking forward to these showings but my client was wanting to buy this type of building so off we went. I was absolutely disgusted with how some people choose to live. I'm convinced that if they were living in the penthouse in Trump Tower they would still have kept filthy dirty apartments. Please don't get me wrong, I do not believe they were living in squalor because they were down on their luck. Some of the tenants had very few possessions but what they had was clean and in good repair. You could see they had respect for themselves and for their surroundings. That maybe this was just a temporary set-back? But others, OMG. I've never seen such filth and the smell . . . no excuse would be acceptable for allowing yourself to live like that.

On the other hand, this one guy had a mattress on the floor, one previously enjoyed tv table/tray with a lamp and no shade. Just the bare bulb. That was all he had in this one room apartment. He told me he was saving up to buy a 'curly bulb'. That this new bulb will save energy. I didn't know what to say.

I finished with my client and decided to hit the grocery store to get some food. As I was parking the car I realized that I couldn't get thru Day 3 without buying 5 Thank You notecards and putting them to immediate use. I wrote on the outside of the envelope "Free Money Inside" . On the inside of the note I wrote "If you need this $10 please take it and enjoy. If you don't need the cash, please add more to it and pay it forward."

I took the 5 cards and envelopes into the grocery store and put one on the bulletin board beneath an ad for someone looking to clean homes for cash. Another was taped to a box of diapers with another attached to babyfood. Next I went to the denture cleaning section and taped one there. The final one went over in the petfood aisle.

My hope and prayer is that someone who is in true need will find them, with far more than $10 in them, and that it will make their day!

I'm excited about Day 4 tomorrow - stay tuned

I am just jazzed and it is only 3:30 in the afternoon! Today, for my 2nd Day of 29 Days of Giving I gave testimony in court for a client and we WON!!! My client is so happy her cheeks are hurting from grinning!

We spent 5 long hours in court to be rewarded in the end with a Case Dismissed! Without going into a long song and dance about it, this case was introduced by a Buyer who chose to have a family member perform her Building Inspection instead of hiring a professional. Months after closing, she had some issues that most likely would have been identified by a pro and felt that the Seller should pay for these.

We felt so badly towards the Buyer but felt that if anyone was responsible it was her family member who was advising her all along, not the Seller (another young single girl)

It felt sooooo good to be able to take the time to give testimony knowing that the outcome could only be positive as that was the energy we were bringing to the situation. I love the idea of having another 27 more days (at least) of focussed giving.

Please feel free to join me (see yesterday's blog) Happy Friday and I'll see you tomorrow,