Doris's Blog

HomeBuyer Seminar in Plano-Frisco, TX

2008-05-31T17:32:30Z

Please join us either June 4th or 11th Call for reservations 6:30pm to 8:30pm 469-429-0160 Leave name, number and DATE! Refreshments will be served.

Click here to check out
The Frisco Real Estate Buying!

See you there!

Dallas Suburbs launches new website for Agents and customers

2008-05-21T21:31:11Z

Home Page? My Page Check it? We are very excited to announce the release of the new company website. Everything you can hope for or need to use to find a property in North Texas is all right here. Plus we added some cool links- Check the map searches, (I personally love the map searches) the "for kids" link is fun and the calculators are right on the pages. So we are now very customer friendly and having a lot of fun on the back creating some extra pages for the public to enjoy.

If you are a North Texas agent, please check out the "NEWS" link where you will find updates on the power networking lunches held on Wednesday's. If you see something you like just call and speak with our Managing Broker, Ivy Boland. 972-208-9200 She likes to invite our friend's to lunch and learn at the Wednesday Power lunches.

I am bubbling just a little bit, some of the photos on the home page came right out of my camera! I think half of the fun of a new website is the anticipation of all of the great tools we can offer to new customers, plus hopefully all of the new leads from people starting to get serious about finding a home in the Dallas Suburbs. The "Hot Market" falls in the summer here, which is the exact opporsite of my time in Florida when more homes were sold in "season" November to April-ish. We might have counted ourselves unlucky in Real Estate in Texas, awhile back when everyone else's markets were going great guns but, our time has come around-we are now one of two "top selling markets in the country. Dallas area and Houston are the "good deal areas". Now I'm glad I got that license here, too!

So if you are in a buying frame of mind-c'mon give me a call and let's make a deal for you.

Children's Medical Opens in Plano-April 08

2008-05-07T12:01:32Z

What a blessing came to Plano early in April. We are lucky to have Children's Medical center open right at Hedgecoxe and Preston Road on the SW corner. They have had offices on the SE corner for quite awhile and those will be occupied by some of the doctors practicing at Children's.

Our children may very well be safer because of this step. So we want to say welcome to the neighborhood!

Linked in How to's

2008-04-11T17:16:37Z

IF any of you saw an earlier blog that I put up about linkedin.com and took my advice to go get linkedin then you might have received an e-mail this week from Zale about how to use this site. I got a kick out of his 7 ways to Get business from Linked in: http://www.zaletabakman.ca/2007/12/19/seven-ways-to-use-your-linkedin-network/ As all of us could use any more ways to get business, I am sharing this link today for your reading pleasure.

Have a fabulously profitable weekend and share a good idea with us this next week! Teach a man (or WO MAN) to fish!

Foreclosures in Plano, TX

2008-04-11T16:14:33Z

There are currently as of today 61 properties that are available with a foreclosure classification. These Properties range from 72,000 to 3,442,900.

The 72,000 is a 3/2 with a 2 car gar square ftg is 1335

The 3,442,900 is a 5/5 with a 2 car gar sq ftg is 12,278

While we're seeing a slight increase in foreclosures it has not dramatically affected sales prices. I just thought it might be fun to see the two extremes in this market. Please call if you would like to walk either property or the others.

What's going on this week at the Office?

2008-04-05T14:39:20Z

Easy floor plan and Easy to show. It's had it's face washed this weekend so if you have or are the gardener who wants to live in Frisco, just north of Main street, Don't let the roadwork stop you from seeing this one. GREAT yard. House is nice too! Camfield Frisco, TX 75034

Jeff Crilley came to visit

2008-04-05T14:31:49Z

When one of the TV guys shows up for an office meeting the agents come out in droves! Even top producing agents who may stop by for a bit of lunch while usually on the run to important appointments-sat down to listen to Jeff's comments and join in the giggles.

We had the pleasure of a visit from MR. Jeff Crilley of Channel 4 here in Dallas. He spoke to our office about "How to market using little to no money, on building a recognizable brand and getting attention from the press." That wasn't the real topic but it covers what we learned and what fun we had. Tom Apligian, one of the owners of RE/MAX Dallas Suburbs joined in the experience and learned that he and Jeff had community in common, both are Michigan natives and while they didn't remember each other growing up they enjoyed sharing rememberances of the area and their time near Detroit.

Jeff brought things to make us laugh at ourselves and others, He brought things to open our eyes about the real impact of "Branding", he even made us blow some bubbles to teach us to understand how a press room really works. When was the last time you were offered a PEZ candy? See Tom above holding the huge PEZ dispensor? Luckily he has an excellent sense of humor as he was drafted into the presentation immediately.

This entertaining and thought provoking presentation is a must see for agents wanting to have impact in a powerful way for their products and Brand. While Jeff speaks for FREE he has written a powerful book and offers it almost reluctantly at an incredible price of $10.00 and for those of us who wish we could read even in the car there is a companion CD for another $10.00. For REALTORS used to paying much, much more for quality content this was a true value and enjoyed by all who attended the 2 hour TX-MCE qualified presentation. I want to share that he does enjoy travel so for any of you agents out there who would like to really know what you have to do to get some attention from the media (Also known as FREE advertising) Click on Jeff's name above and see what you too can arrange! While Jeff will speak for free if you are asking him to travel-perhaps some tickets and a room would be happily accepted!

Collin County Foreclosure Tours

2008-03-18T13:43:02Z

If you are considering a home purchase this spring, why not let us help. There are over 200 Houses that are under $200,000 in Collin county that are going through the foreclosure process. 199,900 4/4 2 car garage

Many of these homes are in good condition; they are simply houses whose owners have hit a crisis point and now these houses are looking for new owners that can and will give them the care a home needs. If you are one of those people who are hoping to find a house that needs a homeowner's care-give me a call. 972-208-9200 or send me an e-mail: Doris@DorisBarnett.com. 3/3 138,900

Let us first get you qualified, that increases your negotiating position and gets you some pull in the buying process. Then we will help with pricing point information, so that you can buy at the right price for a particular area. We do scientific CMAs and that is a feature that we offer to the clients of this company. A scientific CMA follows very specific guidelines and commonly hits the price on the nailhead with which the appraiser will agree when the time comes. Remember as a buyer, a lender will first approve you for the loan and then they will require an appraisal to approve the property that you wish to buy.

Start your spring in a new home, locations are good, prices are better and rates are still dropping. Why wait to start building your wealth? The National Association of REALTORS says that most homebuyers use their homes to help build their wealth and buying smarter gets you started with some equity at the start.

Rainy Day work

2008-03-18T13:12:07Z

When it's gray and gloomy outside so many of us try to stay inside. We are having a couldburst kind of day today in North Texas and the best thing about it is the flowers are just rejoicing! We have petunias in front of the office that are dancing in the rain! It's funny to watch them kind of wiggle everytime a raindrop finds a petal.

What are you doing for your rainy day? It seems that this same cloud is almost covering the entire country right now and while I know we will have some really incredible flowers by the end of this month. We have daffodils already. I am thinking about my end of the month and how I can best spend today so that I have a sunny face about then, too.

I have one buyer looking for a daycare business up to 2 million dollars. whoeee Found a building but learned today that it was just used for that purpose not as a business at this time. Drat!

I have a seller who was anxious to sell her 3/2 with almost a half acre of land and then decided to lease it. Drat again. I am following my servant heart but, hello out there. I could use one deal this month!

I did an open house this last weekend and the seller offered me an extra $1500 to FIND A BUYER! Ok anyone got a big shovel! I think I'm going to have to dig one up!

My open houses this weekend were spent catching up on paperwork and watching HGTV. I have some excellent ideas for home improvement. No one was visiting on Palm Sunday. Seller is itchy, not my listing, just helping a friend who really needed time with family.

Now I am not moaning at all-just a recording of the facts-I'm one of those glass half full kind of people and I know that sometimes you do have to get out the shovel and plan some Rumplestiltskin work-spinning straw into gold- so I'm busy today with some planning efforts.

Find another daycare center-operating one this time!
Pull some under average market priced homes and then set some contact plans in place.
Choose new properties for open houses and plan to announce them better.
If I had a bus I'd be doing foreclosure tours after the buyers were qualified of course.
Those small corragated signs can be done up for about $10.00 or less if you do them in quantity.

Heh the good news is-with the weather this way I can put off cleaning the inside of the car until tommorrow morning! No one wants to look at property today! I've been wet all the way through but, it has been a really productive day. Sometimes the rain is important for our growth, too! Have a big glass of water but, remember to leave it "half full!"

I found an old Friend this week!

2008-03-13T09:29:18Z

I still have one missing but, this was so exciting to just be fooling around on my "linkedin.com" searches and run across an old buddy from the "cellular days"_those were the 1980's for me. She is still out there doing it and here I am settled into a new, after 18 years, not so new business! It is fun though to re-find people that were once so important to my life. We had dealt almost daily on the phone together for awhile while I was still in Chicago and it was a nice surprise to find her name and contact information in the linked in website. By the way for those of you who are looking for a way to find old contacts that is a good place to start. Go to www.linkedin.com and join for free, then search for old business connections and even old friends. Perhaps they would be willing to send you business even today. Sometimes I think the best friends we have ever made are those we made in our early years. So if you like the idea, try that site and then try one called www.fastpitch.com both work the same. I have done more with linked in but like the structure of fastpitch! If you have others I'd love it if you would share them!

There is still one friend her name was Luanne India, from Medinah, IL in the early 70's. She will remember Doris if she ever hear's that I am still thinking about her silliness after all of these years. Some people bring rain to your life some bring the sun. The sunny ones stay in your heart! Enjoy!

Did you change your clocks?

2008-03-10T12:01:58Z

What a relief to find that some of them changed themselves-Forward in case you forgot. I spent Sunday morning while breakfast was cooking changing the 4! clocks in the kitchen. Thank heaven the computers changed themselves! Hope you are bright eyed and bushy tailed, I woke up sleepy today- Adjustment is so time consuming! My good intentions may have to wait a day.

What our elected officials are doing for us in Texas.

2008-03-04T16:20:02Z

We had a networking meeting today at the Collin County Association of REALTORS and that is normal for a Tuesday we have them every week. What made this week different is that we had the company of Judge Charles Sandoval in attendance and he was in fact our featured speaker. Now he is an elected official and up for election but, all he said about that was don't forget to vote today.

The more important topic that he brought us was that there is a treatment that he found by attending a meeting a year ago in Chicago. He is sentencing people coming through or assigned in to his court to this treatment. He says that maybe 90 percent of his "offenders" are there due to a problem with drugs or acohol. This treatment is helping 70% of them stop the drug use-specifically meth. His cases cover things like burglaries, car breakins and even child abuse cases. All track back to the use of a drug of some sort. In Texas we do have a program in the jail system that takes a year to complete and most of the "offenders" aren't anxious to participate in that one-this other one is an injection treatment and a talking treatment that seems to work pretty well a 70% success rate and they will even ask for this sentence when given the choice of 1 month or 1 year I guess the choice is easy. The best part is the parole officers are the monitoring arm and it actually shrinks the part of the brain that crys out for the drug. He has already put 20 people through the program and the state has jumped on board with an allocation on $180,000 towards the program. It's not enough but, perhaps when they realize that it costs us probably closer to $30,000 to house someone in jail for just one year this is a better plan!

They have also brought it to the attention of the jails. There is a Doctor in Dallas Dr. Urshal who will administer the program for someone outside the correctional system for $12,000. The judge told us that is probably a deal for most meth users. This drug is called Prometa, the one for alcohol is called Vivitral. They are planning to try to get this information to the schools next. I already sent an e-mail to my principal with the information on the programs. What a gift, to have someone in the judicial system who cares enough to really try and solve the problems! He struck me as an amazing man, perhaps you know another amazing person in your town who needs this information. Judge Charles Sandoval is an elected judge for the 380 district court in Plano, Texas.

Don't forget to vote!

2008-03-04T15:57:35Z

We were reminded today of a strange quirk in the system. Some people have mentioned that they were considering voting cross party some in Democratic and some in repubican parties this time. We were told that in the primary this is not allowed. At our local level it affects people that we do want elected. You may have already found this out if you have already voted or it may be a Texas thing I don't know. It does make sense to confirm the nomineee for the presidential race but, on a local level we have people who vote for the "People" more than the party. Interesting?

Well at any rate-don't forget to get your opinion posted by visiting your polling place today.

Heh Texas Keep the homestead!

2008-02-29T12:21:43Z

There is a vote coming as you know and they are trying to change homestead laws for people over 65, for heaven's sake! Be sure to vote on this even if you aren't over 65 yet. READ the ballet! It counts for more than you think!

Is it time for a second home in a warmer more temperate climate?

2008-02-29T10:13:22Z

***This property is in MEXICO the country, but there is no way to list it that way***
I am working with a developer who is building new Condos listed at 145,000 and may be rented for approximately $2K/month (approximately when not in use by owners)
Also single family villa homes at $220,000.

This is a full service community located near Puerto Vallerta, (West side of Mexico, mainland) There is a local Wal-mart, in fact you can catch the bus there for Nuevo Vallerta. Expect Golf, Tennis, Pool, Free bus service to and from the beach. For more -e-mail me. REALTORS Bring your buyers and we can pay you a good commission! Buyers give me a call or call your favorite REALTOR and ask them to call me. Either way works!

Are you "Linked in"?

2008-02-29T09:32:08Z

I look for ways to better my business from a technical standpoint all of the time. One of those ways is to reconnect with old friends and colleages. This site will let you do that as well and it's free at the basic level-or course you can do more if you pay for it. I have found a few old work buddies this way and some of them think I still know a few things! Maybe it will help you as well. Try it http://www.linkedin.com/. This site might also be useful for anyone looking to reconnect with old friends who might help them with a new job or references. So if you are looking or meet anyone who is-get them linkedin!

I had the opportunity to meet a new friend there and you will too if you sign up for networking. his name is Zale, his name is unique and so is he. If you want a taste check out this blog post: http://www.zaletabakman.ca/2008/02/27/case-studies-on-self-confidence-leading-to-success/ I happen to be featured as a commentor on his really unusual questions. I have said for some time now that we can get better answers if we simply ask better questions. He is a "master question asker" hmmm an MQA?

Sorry to be so thought provoking on a Friday but, perhaps it will jumpstart your weekend. Thinking is good for you-I believe in doing it daily. Have a profitable weekend!

The 8th Habit went to Tennesee this weekend

2008-02-27T16:41:53Z

SO did Swiss Family Robinson for my daughter. We try to encourage her to be as big a reader as we are so this last trip to the library I picked up the 8th Habit by Covey and since we were called out of town on Sunday afternoon-I took it with me-Luckily I am one of those strange people who can read in the car and I did. There's as much to this habit as there was in the 7 habits of highly effective people! I am enjoying it. Just wish I had more time to read.

Heh Texan's, our business is coookin! This week we are seeing 3-4 deals per agent happening. It's almost spring, I guess. The daffodil's have started to bloom and so are our Buyers. Hope that stays true for your areas too! Nice that Dallas has held it's value and skipped out on the foreclosure crisis. We still need to verify that our comps aren't foreclosures just in case, but for the most part all is well. While I have buyers who are interested in HUD properties, distressed listings and short sales or foreclosures we don't have the abundance that is out there in other areas. Perhaps a listing policy only for the next couple of weeks will pay off nicely with the current abundance of Buyers. Need to maintain the balance somehow.

It is nice to hit the streets with buyers and see what we can find in the way of a deal-with the media hype it does bring the buyers expecting to find deals and the sellers are more prepared for lower offers because of what they have seen on TV. It's so nice to see the office this busy again. If you want to see our agents you not only have to feed them you have to be in all day-they are busy helping everyone moving to the Dallas Suburbs.

Millionaire debt?

2008-02-21T18:23:37Z

REALTORS can be very sensative people we take what we do seriously and to heart. We are like the rest of the world we really don't like to fail our customers and we love to get a win-win where everyone gets something valuable and walks away from the closing table happier than when they arrived. Today's world is different than even a year ago.

Buyers are more serious and cautious than they used to be. Some have bought into the media hype (even in Texas where we have two of the most stable areas in the country-Dallas and Houston.) They have simply closed their minds to owning a home any time soon.

I say things like let's talk about the benefits that you may not have considered: If you are putting money in the stock market and you have a big win! You will be paying the IRS immediately-there is no sheltering that kind of win. On the other hand if you buy a property and then there is a market adjustment over time perhaps you do a much needed upgrade and the value of the property rises because of your good stewardship then that gain can be sheltered by using what is called a 1031 exchange and moving the win into another property without taking out any cash. Repeating this process is a basis of books written about how to become a millionaire. Another benefit to the buyers is the increase of shortsales on the market and if a buyer is in good shape from a FICO standpoint they can get some really good deals in the Metroplex. Lenders are still lending and still offering some creative financing options. It may be worth investigating if you have a thought for giving up that landlord relationship and start to enjoy the benefits of tax savings of the housing interest.

Sellers on the other hand are pretty anxious today in some cases to get the house sold-mostly because they find themselves in jeopardy of foreclosure, bankruptcy or at the least short sale. They are ready when we offer solutions to an uncomfortable situation. It's almost a blessing to stop by and suggest a listing. It still is hard sometimes to say what the right numbers may be to get it sold and the only hope we can offer is to avoid the foreclosure. While it may be hard for the Agent to say, it is much harder for the owner to hear. It is a strange truth that the same people who would have never discussed their financial problems in the past are opening up to stangers to try to find any solutions and learn about the process. It may well turn out over the next year that the people who go towards the short sale or bankruptcy may be the ones that benefit in the long run. (isn't that strange to think about?) Paying the offered amount on a credit card and then learning that it might have been better to just file for bankruptcy and keep the half payment offered for food and gas in the future, is tough to think about. It is a confusing time for many and so far there has been no clear path for them to take. Each case is a bit different and good advisors are important. You have heard the saying-get good help? Now may be the best time to listen well, to that old advice! Loss mitigation consultants can help you-if you respond in time. The most important point-do not wait! Open the packages from the bank when they come in the mail and ask for help-early, when you first suspect a problem may come along. Being the ostrich and putting your head in the sand will not work this time. So don't bother keeping your head down, don't spend a lot of time feeling bad, or like you have failed your family-do make a call and get it taken care of. Be the hero! You aren't alone. When you run the numbers it's pretty easy to see the direction to take and how to fix the situation. As a nation we have been born with hope in our genes-it's still there! Reach for it while you reach for the phone.

How does a Real estate consultant spend a rainy day?

2008-02-21T17:55:08Z

North Texas is brr cold-not as cold as other places in this fine country but, cold enough for us to pull our scarves closer around our necks and huddle just a little bit closer together. I am finding blankets in places I don't usually see them. There is one in my car, upstairs in the workshop next to my desk, across the back of the couch, across the end of the beds. Rainy days add to the chilly feelings outside but, it doesn't affect the warm feelings inside!

I was lucky today I got to celebrate with one of the agents in our office who had been going through a bumpy road. I noted that it is a strange thing that we all recognize in this business: we can be right down to the last tank of gas and wondering what to do next and one phone call, one e-mail or one fax can turn the world right side up in the literal blink of an eye. His turn came today and his face said it all when he walked out of his office I knew he had received the call he was waiting for. He had mentioned earlier today that he was still waiting for a call that said the final signature on a tougher sale was done. He expected it today but, he wasn't sure it would happen. I tried to offer encouragement- we all do that! so when it came through I had to just pat him on the back and say-way to go, in that blink he was the best agent in the office again! It really doesn't matter how many deals we have in the hopper when that one that is so important to our client, is on shaky ground then the rest still get done but we WORRY about the one that will save a families lifestyle. We also get to celebrate with them when there is a win! So on a gloomy day today-we shared a ray of sunshine and that's what makes this job such a blessing. It was a good day in the land of Real Estate!

7-Habits just grew an eighth!

2008-02-20T21:13:56Z

If you are a Covey fan then you will be familiar with the "7 habits of highly effective people"-This is one of the business books that I think we should require ourselves to re-read every few years or so. As we are growing up it is fun to see how far our development has progressed since the last read.

I just found out-where have I been? that there was an 8th habit! Good news for all of us: we are already practicing it! The 8th, in case you missed out on it too, is simple+FIND YOUR VOICE! and then help others find their's. Well doesn't this post and everyone of yours fit the bill? How cool is that-we are on the cutting edge and didn't even have to study this time! Years ago I met with a group of women who were all involved with the Women's Council of REALTORS and we actually scheduled a monthly lunch to get us to talk about and have some accountability for the 7 habits. It was fun and we shared (girl's do you know!)

One of the early points that was notableto me in this new book: Place the focus on the customer. Last night my husband was opening the mail and he harumphed, "i'll bet this is for an HVAC company" (it was) and he commented that they had missed out on selling to him and he tossed it in the garbage. "Being the woman in the room, I asked him why: "all they had done was try to solve their own problems- 'hurry offer only good until the end of the month', '$1000 off' etc. Husband said, "I'm not one of the crowd, I want to buy 3 of them and it offends me that they make an offer like that without considering that homes in this neighborhood have more than one a/c unit." He's a pretty smart cookie so it made me think about how I talk to people and how I might do a better job with just a different perspective=that of solving their problem not my own. The hurry up is their problem unless you tell them why they should- The daffodils are blooming and the warmer spring breezes are on the way-is it time for a new HVAC unit or a checkup on the current one? Inventory is higher at this time of year-the boss is cutting some pretty good deals. Most of the homes in your area are over the 7-10 year lifetime for a central a/c unit. If you haven't considered replacing yours yet....etc..

When is the last time you looked at your ads from the servant's side of the transaction?

IRS Scam from State attorney of Texas

2008-02-18T20:01:12Z

The IRS knows our social security numbers don't give them out over the phone even if someone calls talking about the Bush refunds! and the IRS.
This is identity theft that can be easily avoided.
It seems the bad guys are trying to divert money from people who are deserving of it.
If we publish this information perhaps there will be a few unsuspecting and perhaps susceptible people who won't just blurt out their personal information.
You can make a difference if you talk to your community on this topic.
I will include a link to the Texas State's attorney's letter that was received by our office. IRS SCAM ALERT!
You may want to check with your State Attorney General for their thoughts on your area.

So if you know someone who might not be as cautious as you are; perhaps a call would be well placed-as soon as possible! I am glad to work with people who care this much!

RE/MAX Dallas Suburbs learns to blog today

2008-02-18T09:31:41Z

I have to say thanks to the AR's. You have helped me become better at blogging! I read your blogs and they give me ideas that have helped me move my blog to number 4 in my area. Today I invited the entire office to become bloggers so you may see more of us Suburbs people talking about North Texas! The reason for the invitation was to help them in the Blogging class that I am offering this afternoon. If I can just get them here I think we can get them talking don't you?!

I am enjoying a new office-still in North Texas and it's a great group of people. I do enjoy REALTORS They work so hard and are generous with their time and skills. It's still a good life. My week is off to a good start hope yours is too.

Happy Valentine's day

2008-02-14T10:35:10Z

The morning news crew thought to ask if today is a holiday about money or one about love and they even took a poll! The ladies voted for love and didn't really care what a man spends as long as they "spend" time with them. The men thought it was about money-mostly and some of the ladies said they didn't need the guys to enjoy the holiday. I probably don't either but, it's nice to have the entire family around to just celebrate any holiday with so I will be pulling out the tablecloths and such tonight.

My oldest daughter was going to celebrate her Valentines day by finally (some of you know it's been 18 months!) moving. They all got the flu so the move is postponed until Saturday! But I'm sure her husband will mark the day anyway!

I lived in Chicago for 20 years and this day is still spoken of with regard to the St Valentine's day massacre-yes after all of this time they still think about it thanks to the news media.

My youngest thinks of Valentine's day with fond memories of a snowfall that occured when she was only 2 years old and her daddy tossed the first snowballs at her. This morning we started the day with 45 degrees and she was disappointed to think that it wouldn't be a repeat of her favorite day. We did rev her back up with the thought of her Valentine's Cards and the party that is scheduled for this afternoon.

She had thought to schedule a playdate today and took a firm stand against it. It just didn't seem right somehow to impose on another family or distract from ours so we will all be together tonight. If you are spending it alone do something special for yourself-we don't have to work every day and if you step back to enjoy the day for a bit you will come back stronger tommorrow! Spoil yourself until you feel the smile start and perhaps that smile will carry you into a place that is new and you won't be alone next year! Who knows sometimes it's the littlest things that can change a life. (Valentine's soup for the soul?) Have a happy heart day!

Valentine's day-how will you celebrate?

2008-02-14T10:06:17Z

Is it all about cost or price? That's what our news group was talking about this morning. Men said yes, ladies said it's about love and some ladies said they didn't need a man to enjoy the day. Personally I enjoy enjoying it with all of my family.

It's strange the things that are marked by this day. Having lived in Chicago for twenty years-this day relates to the St. Valentine's day massacre in a part of my mind. They still mention it on the news each year there.

My oldest daughter was supposed to celebrate today by moving to finally have her entire family into one household again and it was a hugely important day for all of them. They got the flu so they will do the move on Saturday. At least they were all together when they got sick!

My youngest daughter celebrates today because she actually remembers that when she was younger(two)it snowed in the North Texas area to the tune of almost two inches and she got to play with Daddy throwing snowballs. She nagged him about it this morning as we prepared for the day! She was hoping that somehow our 45 degree start would still result in some inches. (May have to chop some ice for her later!) The youngest also wanted a play date today and I refused on the grounds that it's Valentines day! She did enjoy writing her cards out for everyone last nite and the parents even got one with a heart shaped lollipop attached-bright kid: attacking the sweet tooth.

My Dad related that he didn't have to buy candy any more because my step mom gets hers from a nephew as thanks for them helping his mom get around when he lives far away. I bet he'll still buy her a nice lunch-he's a romantic kind of guy-which puts my poor husband in a tough spot. When you grow up with a somewhat romantic Dad you expect your husband to be as well. Mine rather likes the wine and flowers route and he always finds the best smelling roses-somewhere. Amazing because roses don't seem to smell anymore. Tip if you want those that do: try whole foods! Everything smells better there even the vegetables!

However you choose to celebrate-with someone else or alone-spoil yourself just a little today and enjoy the feeling. Just to put a bit of a smile on your face and perhaps at this time next year-you won't be celebrating alone. But, if you are-take the time to step back and enjoy it. We can't work every day of the year and you can come back stronger tommorrow.

Found a really neat useful site today!

2008-02-13T09:49:44Z

I had a call from an "out there later" seller today. He's planning for the future sale and wanted to know if replacing his HVAC unit now would be valuable in two years when they plan to sell the house. Well I know that there are all different values to HVAC units when you buy them and that results in different values when you sell too. So I discussed this. I also shared my personal belief that men and women buy houses very differently!

Women want to see the kitchen and the baths and men want the house to be in good working condition or the exact opposite not in good working condition so that they can get a better price and fix it up. I contend that the person who cleans the house still is the one who finally decides which house will be purchased. Some of you may believe that I am wrong but, even if the couple is of the same sex I have found this to be true! My two cents!

So I still believe that you have to take that into consideration when you improve a home. All of that said look at the cool site that I found! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I'm e-mailing it to myself to add to the home computer under favorites! When I get home today I'm going to be looking at my house in a different way! It's time! I'm rolling up my sleeves again-I think there could be some spring fever starting here!