Hi all. This is a little different kind of post. It has nothing to do with business, but it has a lot to do with community.
Those of you who have school age kids might know of the program, but maybe not. It is called Box Tops 4 Education. Basically, each box top collected is worth 10 cents for the school you collect for.
I am collecting for my daughters school and have recruited the entire family to help out. If you have the time and desire to look at the products in your kitchen cabinets and see the Box Tops logo, please cut it out and give it to a neighbor or relative for their school age child to bring to school.
If you don't have anyone to collect for, I am happy to accept donations !!!! If you want to help out Savannah's school, send your tops to my office at 9387 S. Old State Rd., Lewis Center OH 43035.
So it's time to break out the champagne, or at least the cheap red wine. Rich just pointed out that I've broken the 20,000 point thresh-hold. Ok, so it's no 500 posts like Lenn or 10,000 comments like TLW. But hey it's got to be cause for some celebration, at least here in my Lewis Center, Ohio living room. I mean if you can't celebrate your own accomplishments, who will??
What a great and varied place this is. Who knows what the next 20,000 points will bring? Hopefully it won't take me a year to accumulate them. But even if it does, I can't complain because the journey has been / is so incredible. So pick up your glass and give a salute to Active Rain and its members - an amazing resource and network.
There was a throwdown in Lewis Center, Ohio yesterday. Chef Bobby Flay of the Food Network arrived at the Sugardaddy's Factory store in Lewis Center, to challenge the creators of the Sumptuous Sweeties gourmet brownies and blondies to a Blondie cook-off.
The Sugardaddy's team, lead by Co-Founders Tom Finney and Mark Ballard and assisted by Executive Chef Mark Harkins, and Beth Rose, Director, TLC, kicked off the challenge by making their Sumptuous Tahitian Blondie - a wonderful concoction of toasted cashews, white and dark chocolate, pineapple and topped with toasted coconut.
Bobby Flay presented his own version of a Tahitian Blondie, incorporating milk chocolate instead of white and skipping the coconut. Flay's creation also looked like a traditional blondie, eschewing the circular shape that is the trademark of the Sumptuous Sweetie.
Presentation was also a key element of the challenge as Sugardaddy's is known not only for its gourmet brownies but also its luxury packaging as well. With a wide variety options to choose from, team Sugardaddy went with its signature pink and brown silk gift bag. Flay again went with a more traditional presentation, choosing a blue and brown gift box.
The competition was fierce. Both blondies were delicious. The packaging was beautiful. Team Sugardaddy's was clearly the hometown favorite with the hundred plus crowd -most sporting pink and brown attire and blonde wigs - cheering them on. Flay did have a few supporters but they were clearly outnumbered.
But for an absolutely fabulous brownie or blondie - visit the Sugardaddy's Factory store in Lewis Center, Ohio, right down the street from the GryphonUSA office. I guarantee you will come away a winner.
Today was a special day in Columbus, Ohio. Over 40,000 gathered in Ohio Stadium (the Shoe) to watch and participate in Ohio State University's 380th Commencement.
The whole ceremony was amazing to watch. The stage was set on the 50 yard line. The student processional was accompanied by the OSU band. The OSU color guard raised the American flag as soon to be graduate, Jodie Burns, sung the National Anthem. The sense of excitement radiated throughout the stadium.
Many honored guests gathered in Columbus, to participate in the festivities. Former President William Jefferson Clinton gave the commencement address. Others joining him on the stage included: former astronaut and Senator John Glenn, former two-time Heisman trophy winner Archie Griffin, and former Congressman Eric Fingerhut. In addition to the almost 8,000 degrees conferred, honorary degrees were awarded to: President Clinton (Doctor of Public Service), University President Karen Holbrook (Doctor of Education), Jean-Pierre Changeux (Doctor of Science), Gerald Buckberg (Doctor of Science), and Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (Doctor of Music). James F. Patterson and Paul E. Young, Jr. were the recipients of this year's Distinguished Service Awards.
As the graduates joined the ranks of the more than a half a million Ohio State alumni it was a day to remember in Columbus.
Squeezed into a cistern twenty-five students look around in awe. This is actually where the escaped slaves slept, hidden from their pursers as they made their journey north. This small dark, damp room represents a giant step toward freedom.
A project of the Junior League of Columbus, the Kelton House Museum and Garden is the only documented stop on the Underground Railroad in the City of Columbus that is regularly open to the public. Over the past 25 years, the Kelton House has educated Columbus children and adults about local history through the eyes of the Kelton family, which occupied the home from 1852 until 1975. The Museum presents tours, lectures and workshops, and continues to be the cornerstone of the East Town Street Historic District.
For visiting students, the story is told through the eyes of Martha Hartway, who escaped slavery in Virginia and made her way to Columbus. She was found hiding in the shrubbery outside the Kelton family home by Sophia Kelton and taken in. Martha remained with the Kelton family for ten years until she married Thomas Lawrence, a free black carpenter. Martha and Thomas were married in the Kelton parlor. Their story provides the authentic touchstone that makes a visit to the Kelton House extraordinary.
Historical re-enactments, encampments and Victorian teas are other opportunities to explore the wonders of Kelton House. Docents, dressed in traditional Victorian garb, led visitors through the rooms which have been carefully restored to reflect their 1850-1900 appearance. The furnishings and decorations, many of which are from the collection of the Sophia and Fernando Cortez Kelton family allow guests, young and old, to experience life in the Victorian era.
In addition to providing a wonderful opportunity to learn about 19th century urban life and decorative arts in Columbus, the Kelton House served as a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization. Through the efforts of the Junior League, the Columbus Near East Side Historical District was created. Friends of the Kelton House and Junior League Members worked to raise neighborhood awareness about historical preservation transforming the area into the vibrant community that can be found today.
The Kelton House Garden provides an opportunity for refection and solitude. Breathing in the floral fragrance, visitors can pause for moment and escape from the busy reality of the twenty first century to a milder gentler era. The garden often plays host to special events ranging from the annual Easter egg hunt to fairy tale weddings.
It's official! We have the day off due to the snow. Here in Lewis Center, (a suburb north of Columbus) we are under a level 3 snow alert. So what to do on a snowy day when you can't even leave the neighborhood?? Play in the snow of course. But that's after the shoveling.
Hopefully we will soon be able to dig out and head to the pond for ice skating. Of course the neighborhood will have to clear it off as well. Luckily several neighbors will snow plows get the job done pretty quickly.
Lewis Center, Ohio is not a bad place to be snow bound. Good neighbors, a pond, what more could anyone ask for.
•1) Listen to yourbuyers - When we relocated to Ohio there were several things that I knew I wanted in a house - One was a grocery store, mall and restaurants within 5-10 minutes of our home. Not really a hard request to fulfill in Central Ohio. However, our agent kept showing us houses that were either 20 minutes from a grocery store, didn't have restaurants nearby or were quite a ways from any shopping. Whenever I told him that this wouldn't work for our lifestyle, he kept telling me our lifestyle would change. We wouldn't go to the grocery store everyday, so we shouldn't worry that it was so far away. Skip forward to the present, five years later, I live in a house near 3 grocery stores, a mall and multiple restaurants. I take advantage of all of them at least once a week. Bottom line, the buyer's lifestyle might not be yours but don't discount it.
•2) Realize that you are a service provider - The buyer is the client - It isn't all about you - It amazes me how many blogs I've seen that take the position that it's all about the agent. There are blogs that talk about the terrible buyer that brings their children to meeting or showing. Other blogs talk about buyers who want to do showings around their, the buyer's schedule. While I'm not advocating giving in to a multitude of unreasonable demands, the old adage - "the customer is always right" seems quite appropriate here. If you are a buyer's agent - you work for the buyer! If they want to bring their children to a meeting, that is their right. If you don't want to work under those condition, fine, but realize who the customer is.
•3) Be willing to provide references - Reference checks are a common occurrence these days. If we check references before hiring a child care provider, renting an apartment or hiring an employee, why is a buyer's request to check references met with such resistance? Buying a house may be the largest expenditure someone makes, why as an agent, wouldn't you want your clients to be a comfortable as possible with your skills. If your past clients were happy with your services, it doesn't seem like it would be out of line to put them in contact with prospective clients to discuss the experience. I would never hire an employee who didn't provide references that I could verify, I can't imagine hiring someone to help with what might be my largest purchase without a reference check.
So I too have been meme'd courtesy of my husband. (A little odd, since you would think that by now he'd know at least a few things about me) Anyway here are a few little known facts about me.
1. I used to work in the Clinton White House
2. Answer to the question that inevitably follows statement #1.
Yes I did know Monica
3. I have one tattoo and one piercing, not counting my ears
4. I backpacked through Italy & Greece one summer
5. I have always wanted to learn how to surf
6. I have an ever-growing collection of nutcrackers that only come out at Christmas
7. I hate & fear spiders
9. I was photo editor of my college newspaper
10. I love playing dominos and cribbage
And now for those lucky folks that I'm meme-ing: Linda Marti - because she's indirectly responsible for my AR addiction, Cheryl Johnson - because I like her profile pic and that she meme'd herself, Leslie Bloss - because I liked her vacation/volunteer blog and would like to learn more.
I was helping Savannah write her list earlier. For the record she's been very good. ( I'm not counting the incident with the scissors and the cat needing a haircut and I really don't think you should either.) But anyway working on her list made me realize I needed to write mine. So Santa, here is the list of things I want for Christmas.
Member's only blogs, nicknames, blogging for points, spam, shameless comments for ratings. These are all just a part of that crazy place we call "the rain". But does it all really stay here??? I for one, hope not. The relationships and experiences that one can find here are part of the benefit.
Case in point: We got a call yesterday from a potential client. They had relocated out of state, had a property that had been on the market for a while and wanted to discuss an auction. As the conversation progressed, we asked them how they had heard of us. Answer - google and this site called active rain. This is in addition to all the great ideas, proposals, sample letters, pricing suggestions etc we have gotten while here. Pre-rain I didn't know what SEO or range-pricing were or have anyone to discuss them with.
Yes the rain is a great place to go, get ideas, see friends, have some chocolate champaign courtesy of TLW, but it's not just a destination. Experience it, Live it and spread the word.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
Presentation was also a key element of the challenge as Sugardaddy's is known not only for its gourmet brownies but also its 
Squeezed into a cistern twenty-five students look around in awe. This is actually where the escaped slaves slept, hidden from their pursers as they made their journey north. This small dark, damp room represents a giant step toward freedom.
In addition to providing a wonderful opportunity to learn about 19th century urban life and decorative arts in Columbus, the Kelton House served as a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization. Through the efforts of the Junior League, the Columbus Near East Side Historical District was created. 
It's official! We have the day off due to the snow. Here in Lewis Center, (a suburb north of Columbus) we are under a level 3 snow alert. So what to do on a snowy day when you can't even leave the neighborhood?? Play in the snow of course. But that's after the shoveling.
Lewis Center, Ohio is not a bad place to be snow bound. Good neighbors, a pond, what more could anyone ask for. 
6. I have an ever-growing collection of nutcrackers that only come out at Christmas
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