Just saw this-so anyone in the surrounding Temecula area might want to check this out.  Dianne Hicks is a local REALTOR in Temecula, and knows about giving back to her community.  And what better way than to promote this Race For a Cure for Cancer during October, Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Blogging on any Platform is a learning experience, and one we use to share information.  Sometimes though we learn things on other platforms that we want to share with the community of another.  That is what this is, some valuable resources I found on another Platform, and wanted to share to help you make your Blog Better.

I have been actively learning new things for months now, and thought I would share a few of the great resources I have been using with everyone here.  Yes, I have been blogging for a couple years now, but technology changes, Google indexes things differently, and learning is a never ending cycle. 

Blogging on Active Rain is great for our Business, and great for networking.  However it is an insulated platform, where the information we get is mostly from like minded people, which can be good or bad.

How many of us have different Blogs?  We start with one and work our way out into the larger web community.  Some of us do, and some don't.  But bottom line is we want our Blog to improve just like our Business.  We blog for business!

Here are 5 Resources I have used recently to improve my Blog, my Posts, etc.  I was very pleased  when I came back on here and wrote this Post with a colored border to accentuate the main part of the Post:  I did that Post in about 10 minutes, and it served it's purpose.  Many of you went to the site and donated! (BTW thank you).

My point is:  we find resources in different places, and it can help us improve our writing.  I happened to find mine on Squidoo- but even if that is in the Title, Google Research is the same everywhere, keywords are the same, etc. 

During my over 2 years on Active Rain I learned tons......mostly about our business-selling Real Estate, but also about adding pictures, SEO, Marketing, etc.  However, these 5 resources, and a host of other ones really gave me the tools I needed.  I felt like I had finally learned what I needed to improve my Blogs.  I added the color one because I saw several posts recently that love colored fonts...so that is just for you. The other ones helped me tons, and the borders one I used for many of my writings on Squidoo including a Real Estate Specific lens on my farm area.  One lens beat out my Active Rain Blog, and my personal one in Google which both surprised and pleased me because that meant I had learned something ;)

Here are a couple examples of my Real Estate writings that have all done well in Google by using the resources I found, and specifically by spending more time on the pre and post part.  Something I have NEVER done before.

Serrano Del Vista is the area I work for Residential Listings and Sales (mostly I was selling land) and it is #6 on Page 1 of Google.The 2nd and 3rd spots are my other Blog, 4th and 5th spots are my videos, and this one beat my Active Rain Blog by 1 place- I have 7 of the 10 spots on Page 1 for my Niche.  And all this is from what I have learned from AR and other places.

5 Resources (forget the platform) that can help you improve your Blog, Post, Lens, Article, etc.

1.  Make Your Blog be found better in Google

2.  HTML codes for Borders and Backgrounds

3. Improve your Blog with Google Book Clip Tool

4. understanding and Improving how you use Keywords

5. HTML Color Guide

Photo Presentation Program

William Johnson just posted this, and it is beautiful.  I had never heard of this program, but will be watching for his tutorials so I can use this as a tool for making my Blogs better too ;)

Note: One of the most important things I learned is to have unique content, that is also updated!

** for #3 The Book Clip Tool go to Advanced Search and click on Public Domain (see comment 55 below)

Update: Note go to This SEO and Marketing Blog for Q&A's (the Author of the SEO resource)

By: Kathy McGraw- CELLing Realty in Riverside County CA

Oh my...I only came on here to read a few things, and one thing I read just jumped out at me, and the Lil Devil threw his sock away and has been jumping up and down ever since. 

Why?  What is going on this time?

We all have heard about the new FTC Guidelines.  Several Blogs on here were written, some better than others.  But what the Lil Devil noticed were a few of the comments, uh oh here he goes:

Lil Devil- Will you quit acting like you are so superior!  And if you really want us to believe what you say, then I suggest you actually do some research before writing.  And you call yourself a Prolific Blogger!

Lil Angel- Many people are confused, and it didn't help any that most of the media got it wrong, and so did some of the top Bloggers.  This was all clarified in a Conference Call I was on with Mary Engle of the FTC a couple days ago.

Lil Devil- Yea yea, who cares about that....I want to know why this whole thing has gotten out of control? Nobody is going to be making a Bloggers Jail, and regardless of that "important" AR Blogger.....the Government is not restocking the treasury with fines from Bloggers.  He** this reminds me of all that fear mongering that was so prevalent in the past. 

Lil Angel- Yes, but that prolific Blogger went on and on about how it is our responsibility to check things out, and ........

Lil Devil- Oh really?  If that's the case then they sure dropped the ball on checking facts.  We do check facts don't we?  Or is that only for Market Reports?

Lil Angel- OK, enough now.....here is something that will give you the Q&A from the call, and a link to the Guidelines.  And as far as the misinformation that is going around the media and Blogs, most of it was misinterpretation of the Press Release. 

Lil Devil- that may be fine and dandy, but what about the people that love spewing their cr*p about everything? You want me to just ignore them?

Lil Angel- Yep, those are the AR Guidelines.....If you want to play in the sandbox, you must remember that not everyone plays with the same deck of cards, and some people just love to spout off to sound important!

My Writeup on the Guidelines with Q&A's

Link to Read for Yourself the Guidelines

Kathy McGraw

Busy people often times rush through life without taking time to see the little things in life.  A quote by Throeau is on my desktop to remind me every day, "It is not what you look at that matters, but what you see". And this is what I saw one morning. I am reposting it here, as originially I put it on Rocket Moms, a group of Women Writers in their Photography Group.

Yesterday I got to San Diego about 9 am and it was foggy out. My daughter told me to look at something out the window, and here was this huge beautiful spider web near the top of her Avocado Trees with the morning dew caught on the web. Oh, I grabbed my camera and ran out the door with their words of "you'll never get it" echoing in the background. This was extremely difficult to capture on a fly by "I want it now" picture, but as you see I got it. Not in it's full glory as I saw it out the window, but enough to share it with anyone that appreciated the small things in life. The things we often don't see :) Look very close and you can see the morning dew drops in the center of the web. The Avocados will give you an idea of how large this web is.....imagine the time it took one itsy bitsy spider to weave this.

  I was making a Word Press Blog to practice some of the things I learned and found a great theme for Photos called Monotone.  Since the name of the Blog is called Sunset Art Works  of course I had to upload some Sunset Pictures.  This is one I got a real kick out of, and had fun with it on Twitter.  Hope you get a smile out of it.  Some things don't really need an explanation, and if you live in North County, San Diego you've probably seen it along Highway 101.

I was just sitting here reading old Posts and thinking of all the time I invested in this network.  Learning, putting out fires, and writing from my heart.  Oh, not mushy stuff, just heartfelt thoughts that made sense out of things.  But in reading the comments I saw people I haven't seen in a long time.  Where did all the Bloggers go?  I remember my first year on Active Rain. 

The people I read at the time disappeared.  Where did they go?  I know now where they went, to the same places I have been.  Learning all over the Internet with the Blogging skills we learned here.  Writing on other platforms, socializing on Twitter and Facebook. Dreaming and hoping their dreams aren't lost as they find their way in this big Wide World of the Web.

Where have all the Bloggers gone?  They mentor new people, they go to the REBar Camps, Blogger get togethers, and Tweet updates of what's going on in their lives......short quick encounters.  I see people all over the Internet that I met here.  But to tell the truth I miss many of the people I used to blog with and comment on their Posts. 

We come to learn, to grow our business, and a host of other reasons, and sometimes people just have to follow their dreams no matter where that is. When one Blogger leaves another takes their place.....

Follow your Dreams........and if that means we will miss you, then so be it.  We all have to be true to ourselves in the long run.

We all have slow times in our business, and some of us more than others lately.  But what do you do with this time? How do we help families other than getting them into new homes?  I know this community, and I know that it is a caring one.  So many people have supported each other, and shared their hopes, dreams, and sorrows together.  Well, I want to share what I am doing today to help.

Today is September 9th, 09_09_09 the one day Twitterthon to Stop Child Sex Trafficking.  Anyone that knows me knows that I spent my life working with, and for kids, to give them a better life.  So when I was asked to help, I did!  Here is what I wrote on Squidoo for them, explaining about the Project.  Background information on the perverts that are capitalizing on our kids, the worlds kids.

Look at this Video, then get angry!  Afterward please help with this Twitterthon for a most worthwhile cause.  As one Twitter user said this morning, after I thanked her "@brokerkathy My pleasure, Miss Kathy. $9 and a Tweet is the least any of us can do."  

Here is how you can make a difference today:  Stop Child Trafficking!

I'm sitting here right now wondering what to do, the house we put an offer on has disappeared!  This whole transaction has been a nightmare, well actually it hasn't been a transaction, we just put an offer in on an REO home.  Cash buyer, clean offer with no contingencies other than home inspection.  Sounds good, but then the house disappeared!

About 2 1/2 weeks ago we put an offer in on one of the Foreclosures in a gated community.  My buyer loved the house, and after taking time to think about it wrote an offer.  It was a clean offer, and a good one, for a property that had sat vacant for about a year.  Anyway after she wrote it I called the Agent to tell him the offer, and ask where to send it.  Ok, offer now sent!

Communication with this Agent has been anything but "good" although his online bio talked of stelliar service, communication, etc.  After several days of not hearing I called him to see if he had heard anything.  OK, we will wait a few more days.  My client, by self proclamation "isn't very good at waiting," but wanted "this" house.

Another week goes by while I am trying unsuccessfully to reach the Agent.  Message after message, and nothing.  I did get a 2 line response of "got it" to an email sent asking if he had received the offer days before.  Finally out of frustration I looked Mr. REO Agent up, and called his office.  What happened next is short of sending a volcano through my Brokers Hat  I was wearing at the time.

I asked for Mr. REO Agent....."hold on I'll transfer you".  Then Voice Mail.  I asked for the Broker, got an Office Manager.  "Oh he's an Independent Contractor, we don't keep tract of him.  He's really busy with his 80 listings!"  What!  Well can I have the number for the Broker?  "I don't have it, but reception can give it to you."  What! You're the Office Manager and don't have the number for the Broker?

After many tries, Mr. REO finally answered the phone, "Oh I am sorry, and I haven't heard anything yet, which is unusual as I have worked with these people before".......blah blah blah.  Then he tells me he is going on vacation in the morning, but will have his laptop and cell phone with him.  Yea I'm thinking, they sure were useful to me while you weren't on vacation!  But I'm professional, and thank him for the update.

Fast foreward to he has been on vacation awhile, no contact, no answering my calls, nothing. That Brokers Hat of mine was steaming......"Who is supervising this guy! and where is my offer?"  I Twittered my frustration once, and different people said for me just to call the Bank myself.  And I would have loved to.....but that's against the rules.  The Bank had representation....Mr. REO Agent. So short of calling the Bank, I called his office again.  This time I was insistant, and wanted to know why this Company (large Franchise by the way) wasn't supervising Mr. REO Agent....who was in charge of his files while he was gone?

Anyway, I will spare you all that part of the story, because here comes the climax!

Days before I had called Title to see which Bank owned the house, I was just an inch from that line of breaking the rules, but with knowing who owned the house, I felt I knew something!  Ok, now this is days before the last call to that office.  So, I learned who owned the house, I even have an address, but I am not allowed to do anything with it, so I once again made my twice daily call to Mr. REO Agent, and lordy be he answered!

After the "oh I'm sorry's" he tells me he just 5 minutes earlier emailed the Bank because guess what.....they don't have the house anymore!  The house was transferred to one of the 2 Government Agencies, and he just found out!  What.....I knew this days ago...but I bite my tongue, I try to remain "Professional."  So, Mr. REO Agent what's next?

My house is lost!  The Government Agency doesn't have it in their inventory, and the Bank doesn't know why it was transferred!  And let's not forget about my client that "isn't good at waiting".  So, Mr. REO AGent tells me he will send me an email showing he in fact sent a mail out "just 5 miniutes ago" and I can send that to my client.  What! Oh, and he will make sure he calls them in the morning to see where my house is, never even hinting that along with the missing house is our missing offer.

So, here I sit with an anxious buyer, a deposit check, proof of all funds, a home inspector on hold, and no house! And is he still the Agent since obviously the company that hired him doesn't own the house anymore?

Yes, I just love how some Agents work, and love the Banks even more.  I sure hope the Government with all their resources can find my house sometime soon!  Now, you try telling your client that their house is missing!  I just love my job....

Moral of the story.....

REO Agents, if you can't handle the listings you have,

and can't bother to follow up, then don't take the listings!

I just want to find out who has my house, so I know what to do next with my client!

By: Kathy McGRaw- Real Estate Broker

Do you have a good imagination?  Have Kids or Grandkids?  Well, this is for you....a special Summer Treat, but like I said "Don't Gag" it's not good for the keyboard :)

Entertaining the kids, and re-enforcing various skills like writing, photography, and math this is the result of giving kids something to do.  The "assignment" was to come up with a recipe.  Are those flies real?  Yep, I saw them out in the backyard (don't know what was wrong with the flies in the house) killing flies.  Apparently everyone gets 2 each LOL :)

And Fun isn't just for the Kids :)

"Stupid is as stupid does."  Yesterday I read about a Real Estate Agent in Washington that did several Burglaries after telling homeowners he had clients that wanted to see the home. He would make the appointments for when Sellers weren't at Home then steal their valuables and pawn them.  The Rationale "to supplement his income in this economy." 

I've always said that not all Real Estate Agents were ethical, intelligent, or mature, guess this is an example of that.  Another thing I read this morning was an Agent in Florida was arrested foranother crime.

People are people regardless of the job they have. The Military is full of misfits (I know I was in the Service) and I know of Crooked Cops, Judges, Council Members, etc. all out to take care of number 1 at the expense of others.

But bottom line is if you do something Stupid.......Be Prepared for the Consequences. We can all do what we want in life if we are willing to accept the Consequences!

By: Kathy McGraw