Happy Friday to all! 

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful week.    

I wanted to share that today is a very special day for me  -  it is 25 years ago today that I was blessed with a very happy and healthy beautiful baby girl! What a joy she has been to my life - Happy Birthday Angella!    And to celebrate we will be heading to Seattle tomorrow for a day of shopping, eating, drinking, and generally just being "merry"!!  We will cap off the night with The Coats Christmas concert - a wonderful holiday show and long standing family tradition.

Whatever you do this weekend, I hope it is fantastic!  Enjoy the quotes and I will see you next Friday.

 ....geri      

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The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next.  The difference between the two is the difference between living fully and just existing.   -Michael E. Gerber  

Often the difference between a successful man and a failure is not one's better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on his ideas, to take a calculated risk, and to act.  -Maxwell Maltz  

Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.  -Chinese Proverb  

It only gets better when YOU get better.   -Anonymous   Education is when you read the fine print. 

Experience is what you get if you don't.    -Pete Seeger

This 3 bedroom rambler, with new carpet and paint, is ready for a new tenant.   The home features a formal entry, living room, dining room, family room, kitchen, 3 bedrooms & two full baths (one off the master and one off the hall).  The home is equipped with a new stove, refrigerator, washer and dryer.  

The house is situated on a quiet dead-end street and has a fully fenced backyard and deck plus an attached two-car garage.

The home is located just off Kent Kangley, within walking distance to two shopping plazas, plus easy access to Kent, Covington, Hwy. 18, Green River Community College and more.

To see this home or for more information call Joe at 253-239-1417

Address:  13618 SE 272^ndCourt    Kent, WA  98042

Rent:  1,395.00

Deposit:  1,400.00

Pet ok with deposit

Are you as excited about this time of year as I am?  I have been listening to Christmas music for weeks, the decorations have been up in my house for quite some time already and I have most of the pre-sets in my car set to holiday stations.  Anything to do with Christmas catches my attention this time of year.  (and to be honest most any time of year :)

Last year I came across a website that is chock-full off fun activities.  There are things for kids, teachers & parents, along with recipes, games, puzzles, stories and more.

This interactive website is sure to please "kids" of all ages.  Check it out at:  http://www.northpole.com

I am off to play, hope you enjoy this site too!!

I got an email today and it was from, well.. ME! But the kicker is that it was from me from last year - how cool is that!

Several years ago I happened upon a website that you can send yourself an email in the future. So I did it. And every year during the holidays I get an email from myself. Of course, from year to year I always forget - so it is always a great surprise.

I thought you might want to send yourself an email - or you might want to share the site with your family and friends.  They might get a kick out of getting an email, from themselves, from the past.

Here is the link to the site.     http://http//www.futureme.org/

It is pretty simple to use, so go check it out and enjoy!

And maybe at some point in the future, you can say "I've got mail - from me!!"

The City of Covington will be hosting it's second annual Hollydaze, arranged by the Kiwanis Club of Covington. 

Tonight, Friday December 4th, the City of Covington will turn on the lights at the Community Tree Lighting Event.  The Chamber of Commerce will be handing out treat bags while supplies last, and there will be hot coffee and hot cocoa to keep you warm, and carolers to get you in a festive mood.  Gather in the parking lot near the Don Henning Roundabout and between Jack-In-The-Box and the Dollar Store.  You won't be able to miss the pop-up tents and booths.  But come early, last year the crowds began forming around 6:45 - the tree will be lit promptly at 7:30.   The tree will remain lit throughout the holidays. 

The festivities continue tomorrow, December 5th.   The day kicks off with a Santa Breakfast from 9 a.m. - 11 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Church.  Breakfast will be served by volunteers and members of the East Hill Grange.  It will include eggs, pancakes, ham, OJ, milk and coffee and there is no charge.  However, donations (cash or non-perishable food items) are accepted and 100% of donation proceeds go to the local area food banks, so your donations are encouraged.  The day continues with the Holiday Bazaar (craft fair) and this will be at the MultiCare Covington clinic from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  So far over 30 vendors are coming to sell their crafts and goodies, a great way to get a jump on your holiday shopping.  And the Fruitcake Hurl is back this year as well.  This will be held in the Home Depot parking lot with two categories - kids and adults!  Prizes will be given out to the first, second and third place hurlers in each category.  Participate and get a t-shirt that says "I hurled a fruitcake at Covington Hollydaze 2009 (while supplies last).  Launches are 3 for $5.00 with 100% of the proceeds going to the local area food banks.  This event runs from noon - 3 p.m.  And finally the day wraps up with Float-in Movie / Parent's Night Out.  This is an opportunity for families to spend time together in the pool, or for parents to drop off their kids for fun activities while they enjoy holiday shopping or dinner out in town.  Various holiday movies will be played, and there will be games and activities to keep the kids occupied.  Donations will be accepted here too, for the area food banks and the Toys for Joy.  Admission price is $3.25 for residents and $3.50 for non-residents.  Anyone under 6 years of age must be accompanied in the water and supervised at all times by an adult. 

For mor information check out their website at:  http://www.covingtonhollydaze.com/

Happy Friday to all!

I hope this finds you in a festive mood, and having a wonderful day! 

We are hosting the RE/MAX office party here at my house tonight, so my house is all decorated and ready!  I so love this time of year, and I hope you do too!

Enjoy the quotes and I will see you next Friday!

...geri

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   No matter how small and unimportant what we are doing may seem, if we do it well, it may soon become the step that will lead us to better things.  -Channing Pollock  

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.  The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.  -Thomas Edison  

There is in the worst of fortune the best of chances for a happy change.  -Euripides  

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.  -Ambrose Redmoon  

Good judgment comes from experience, and often experience comes from bad judgment.                       - Rita Mae Brown

Here is a quick look at what it going on in the real estate market in our area, zip code 98042...

Last month there were 290 homes for sale, currently 294 homes for sale.  The prices range from the low 100,000's to just under 3 million.

• 2-bedrooms homes for sale:  14
• 3 bedroom homes for sale:  131
• 4 bedroom homes for sale:  109
• 5+ bedroom homes for sale:  40

There were 45 homes that sold in November, 2009.   25 were re-sale homes and  20 were new construction.

A further breakout shows what type of homes sold..,.

• New Construction:  44.5%
• Bank Owned:  20%
• Short Sales:  13.5%
• Regular Re-sales:  22% 

The average sale price was $267,140.

            Low sales price was:  $124,900           

            High sales price was:  $455,000

Attitude, Inspiration, Wisdom

For those of you who follow my Weekly Words of Wisdom blog post every Friday, you know that I am a sucker for good quotes and pictures.

Well today a friend sent me a link to a video that is right up my alley.  It is all pretty pictures and inspiring quotes and thoughts.  So I thought I would share it with you too.

http://www.powerofattitudemovie.com/

I hope you enjoy it and I hope you have a wonderful day!

...geri

Happy Friday to all!

I hope you are having a wonderful Friday and I hope your Thanksgiving was spectacular. 

Are you out braving the stores today or enjoying a quiet day at home, like me?  Whatever it is I hope it is grand.  Enjoy the quotes and I will see you next Friday.

...geri

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When I've heard all I need to know to make a decision, I don't take a vote.  I make a decision.                    -Ronald Reagan    

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.  -Sally Berger    

Don't cut your conscience to fit this year's fashions.  -Lillian Hellman    

Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.                        -Albert von Szent-Gyorgyi

As with any holiday we have the traditional things that we do with our family and loved ones.  Thanksgiving day to me is the smells of food cooking, the dining room table being set with the fine china, football games and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

When I was a little girl I would wait anxiously for the parade to begin.  I would sit glued to the TV watching the bands march by, waiting for my favorite balloon characters to appear and of course the grand finale - Santa Clause!

The parade started in 1924 and was originally known as the Macy's Christmas Parade.  The first parade was started by the employees and featured animals from the Central Park Zoo.  It was such a success that Macy's declared it would become an annual event.

In 1927 the parade included helium-filled balloons for the first time.  They were released above the city during the grand finale, but unexpectedly burst above Manhattan.  The following year the helium balloons were redesigned with safety valves which allowed them to float for several days.  The new and improved balloons also featured return address labels offering prizes in case any balloons floated away.  Most years things go pretty well for the parade, but in 1957 a downpour filled the cap of the Popeye balloon with gallons of water, causing him to veer off course and dump water on surprised spectators. 

It takes quite a bit of preparation to put together a parade as big as this one.  The floats are designed in the Parade Studio, a former Tootsie Roll factory in Hoboken, NJ.  The floats stand up to 40 feet tall, but can be folded to make their parade eve trip to NYC via the Holland Tunnel.  Upon their arrival crews work all through the night to re-assemble them for the 9 AM step-off.  The helium balloons have to be filled and this too is done the day before the parade.  They fill them on 77th and 81st Streets between Central Park West and Columbus Ave.  The public can view them from 3 - 10 PM but according to my daughter, who attended last year, it is extremely crowded and easy to get separated from the folks you are with.

More than 44 million people watch the parade on television each year and this year will be no different.  You can tune in on NBC.  For more information visit the official parade website.