<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
  <channel>
    <title>Western Massachusett's Real Estate Natural at Park Square Realty, Lesley Lambert's Blog</title>
    <link>http://activerain.com/blogs/lesleyjl</link>
    <description>Western Massachusetts Real Estate news, information and advice from real estate agent and REALTOR Lesley Lambert, Park Square Realty, Westfield, MA. </description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1345430/western-massachusetts-why-are-you-thankful-to-live-here-</guid>
      <title>Western Massachusetts: Why are you Thankful to live here?</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;I make it no secret that I am a huge fan of Western Massachusetts.&#160; I have lived here my entire life and have no plans on leaving.&#160; My work as a REALTOR takes me all over the Pioneer Valley and there are so many beautiful and wonderful places and things to do here!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I am grateful for a number of reasons, including:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;#1- the changing beauty.&#160; I love the seasons here and how pretty is is in different ways at different times of year.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;#2- the proximity.&#160; I love that I can get to Boston in two hours or New York City in three.&#160; We can be at the mountains or the beach in an hour or so.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;#3- the affordable and safe lifestyle.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;#4- the people!!!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Thanksgiving got me to thinking about why I am thankful to be here and now I would love for you to tell me:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;object id=&quot;ToonDoo&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; classid=&quot;clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000&quot; codebase=&quot;http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0&quot; width=&quot;400&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;allowScriptAccess&quot; value=&quot;always&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;allowFullScreen&quot; value=&quot;true&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;movie&quot; value=&quot;http://static.toondoo.com/ToonDoo.swf?userName=LesleyLambert&amp;amp;id=1150655&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;quality&quot; value=&quot;high&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;bgcolor&quot; value=&quot;#ffffff&quot;&gt;&lt;embed name=&quot;ToonDoo&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffff&quot; src=&quot;http://static.toondoo.com/ToonDoo.swf?userName=LesleyLambert&amp;amp;id=1150655&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;application/x-shockwave-flash&quot; pluginspage=&quot;http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer&quot; allowscriptaccess=&quot;always&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; width=&quot;400&quot;&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-size: 11px; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; width: 100%;&quot;&gt;by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.toondoo.com/user/LesleyLambert&quot;&gt;LesleyLambert&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.toondoo.com/&quot;&gt;Create your own Cartoon at http://www.toondoo.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;iframe src=&quot;http://card.ly/LesleyLambert.embed&quot; style=&quot;width: 320px; height: 230px; border: 0;&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:38:33 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1345430/western-massachusetts-why-are-you-thankful-to-live-here-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1341663/selling-your-western-massachusetts-home-you-need-a-plan-</guid>
      <title>Selling Your Western Massachusetts Home?  You Need A PLAN!</title>
      <description>&lt;table cellspacing=&quot;0&quot; class=&quot;Panel DesktopModuleTitlePanel&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; cellpadding=&quot;0&quot; width=&quot;100%&quot;&gt;
&lt;tbody&gt;
&lt;tr id=&quot;_ctl2__ctl7__ctl0_ct_2101889_2101889_t_tr&quot;&gt;
&lt;td id=&quot;_ctl2__ctl7__ctl0_ct_2101889_2101889_t_tc&quot;&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Selling your home is one of the most important decisions in your life.&amp;nbsp; It takes a lot of planning and the right team to get the job done.&amp;nbsp; Before you put your Western Massachusetts home up for sale, be certain that you have created a plan.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/23898496@N08/2832789283/&quot; title=&quot;for sale sign by burienundressedblog, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3021/2832789283_0bff5a982e.jpg&quot; height=&quot;177&quot; alt=&quot;for sale sign&quot; width=&quot;177&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h1&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Title&quot; id=&quot;_ctl2__ctl7__ctl0_ct_2101889_2101889_t_mt&quot;&gt;Your Plan Should Include:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/h1&gt;
&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;tr id=&quot;_ctl2__ctl7__ctl0_ct_2101889_2101889_t_dr&quot;&gt;
&lt;td&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/td&gt;
&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/tbody&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. Find the right representative&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;The experience and knowledge of a dedicated real estate professional can be priceless. A good Realtor&amp;reg; forms a powerful team with his or her clients that makes it possible for them to have a smooth, successful, stress-free sale.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2. Determine your needs/wants for the sale and for your new home&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Selling your primary residence can be tricky because you have to simultaneously be thinking about where you would like to buy. First weigh your priorities &amp;ndash; selling price is certainly important, but having a quick and efficient sale can often be worth accepting a slightly lower offer. Talk to your agent and make sure you&amp;rsquo;re comfortable with where your priorities are.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;At the same time, you should be compiling a needs/wants list for the home you will buy. You will probably have to act fairly quickly when your house sells, so any amount of preparation you can do will serve you well.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. Prepare your house for showing&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Underprepared homes can be sales disasters. Your home will never get as much attention from potential buyers as when it is first listed, so clearing clutter, cleaning, making repairs, and putting your home&amp;rsquo;s best foot forward is essential. Don&amp;rsquo;t &amp;ldquo;open for business&amp;rdquo; until your home is ready to be seen as favorably as possible.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4. Find out what your local market looks like&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Being realistic about your market is the key to a smooth sale. There is no substitute for a professional real estate representative when it comes to local market knowledge.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5. List away!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;Lots of photos and online exposure are the key to getting a good response for your listing. Working with an agent who uses Point2 Agent software is a great step in the right direction. Now just &amp;ldquo;open&amp;rdquo; the house and sit back and wait for the flood of eager buyers!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you are selling your home in Westfield, Southwick, Agawam, West Springfield or the surrounding Western Massachusetts towns, then I would love to interview for the position.  My 21 years experience in Western Massachusetts real estate will help smooth your move.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:42:59 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1341663/selling-your-western-massachusetts-home-you-need-a-plan-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1334007/western-massachusetts-home-sales-statistics-good-news-</guid>
      <title>Western Massachusetts Home Sales Statistics: Good News!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;The REALTOR Association of Pioneer Valley has just released some great news with the lastest sales statistics for October.  The stats show an increase in the number of homes sold are up 9% in Hampden County.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/44165698@N00/50310388/&quot; title=&quot;Charlie Brown: Realtor Charlie by A.M. Kuchling, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm1.static.flickr.com/30/50310388_3c75033ec1.jpg&quot; height=&quot;250&quot; alt=&quot;Charlie Brown: Realtor Charlie&quot; width=&quot;193&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;October Single Family Sales for the entire &lt;strong&gt;Pioneer Valley&lt;/strong&gt; show sales up 18.4% &amp;bull; Median price down 4.1%&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The report for &lt;strong&gt;Hampden County Home Sales&lt;/strong&gt; shows Sales up 9.0% &amp;middot; Median Price down 2.8%&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Hampshire County Home Sales &lt;/strong&gt;reports Sales up 31.4% &amp;middot; Median price up 3.2%&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Franklin County Home Sales&lt;/strong&gt; statistics are Sales up 71% &amp;middot; Median Price down 11.5%&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;What does this news actually MEAN to those considering selling a home in Western Massachusetts?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Inventory is down 14% over last year &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;The tax credit has been extended and expanded beyond just 1st time buyers to move up buyers as well &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Rates continue to remain at historic lows &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;Sellers are seeing great prices and in some cases - multiple offers!&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Now is a great time to sell your home and take advantage of all these once in a lifetime incentives!&amp;nbsp; If you are considering a move in Western Massachusetts then contact Lesley Lambert of Park Square Realty in Westfield, MA.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:43:30 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1334007/western-massachusetts-home-sales-statistics-good-news-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1334054/57-baltimore-street-chicopee-ma-</guid>
      <title>57 Baltimore Street, Chicopee, MA </title>
      <description>&lt;iframe src=&quot;http://singlepropertysites.com/display/_widget.php?iFrame=true&amp;amp;asScript=false&amp;amp;s=10&amp;amp;iframeH=277px&amp;amp;iframeW=182px&amp;amp;iframeOption=true&amp;amp;idp=46333&quot; style=&quot;border-width: 0px; width: 182px; height: 277px; overflow: hidden;&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;



&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Contact me for a private showing of this fantastic home for sale in Chicopee, MA perfectly suited for the first time homebuyer!&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;iframe src=&quot;http://card.ly/LesleyLambert.embed&quot; style=&quot;width: 320px; height: 230px; border: 0;&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:12:55 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1334054/57-baltimore-street-chicopee-ma-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1333955/short-sale-realtor-in-western-massachusetts</guid>
      <title>Short Sale Realtor in Western Massachusetts</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;My latest listing found me on Google by researching the term &quot;short sale real estate agent in Western MA&quot; and has been following my blog articles of short sale advice and education.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;While it is never a great thing to have to sell your home via short sale, I am honored that she valued my input enough to want guidance through this and I am thrilled that I may be able to help her through this difficult time.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;She tried to get several other agents to help her with getting informed and they gave her answers like: &quot;short sales are too much work&quot;.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;object id=&quot;ToonDoo&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; classid=&quot;clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000&quot; codebase=&quot;http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0&quot; width=&quot;400&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;allowScriptAccess&quot; value=&quot;always&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;allowFullScreen&quot; value=&quot;true&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;movie&quot; value=&quot;http://static.toondoo.com/ToonDoo.swf?userName=LesleyLambert&amp;amp;id=1123144&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;quality&quot; value=&quot;high&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;bgcolor&quot; value=&quot;#ffffff&quot;&gt;&lt;embed name=&quot;ToonDoo&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffff&quot; src=&quot;http://static.toondoo.com/ToonDoo.swf?userName=LesleyLambert&amp;amp;id=1123144&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;true&quot; type=&quot;application/x-shockwave-flash&quot; pluginspage=&quot;http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer&quot; allowscriptaccess=&quot;always&quot; height=&quot;320&quot; width=&quot;400&quot;&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;font-size: 11px; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: left; width: 100%;&quot;&gt;by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.toondoo.com/user/LesleyLambert&quot;&gt;LesleyLambert&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.toondoo.com&quot;&gt;Create your own Cartoon at www.toondoo.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;p&gt;While there is some truth to the fact that there can be extra work involved in selling a short sale, each one is different and they can go fairly smoothly.&#160; They are also a reality of our market right now.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I find great pleasure in helping sellers with their short sale situations for a few reasons:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;#1- I was there and feel empathy for their level of stress.&#160; I want to help that stress decrease.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;#2- It is a hands on way for me to help the housing market recover and stop properties from foreclosing&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;#3- It is an avenue of business for me.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So, if you are a homeowner in Western Massachusetts who needs a real estate agent to help you make a short sale work, call me.&#160; If you are a REALTOR in Western Massachusetts who doesn't want to work short sales: refer those clients to me, I will take good care of them!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:17:19 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1333955/short-sale-realtor-in-western-massachusetts</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1273521/victorian-charm-</guid>
      <title>Victorian Charm!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;This gracious Victorian in &lt;strong&gt;Westfield, MA &lt;/strong&gt;is waiting for a family to fill the spacious rooms with love and laughter.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;This 1900 home has original features intact and gleaming such as: gorgeous natural woodwork, carved mantle, stained glass window, original oversized beveled glass door, lovely staircase, claw foot tub, wood floors and pocket doors.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;iframe src=&quot;http://singlepropertysites.com/display/_widget.php?iFrame=true&amp;amp;asScript=false&amp;amp;s=10&amp;amp;iframeH=277px&amp;amp;iframeW=182px&amp;amp;iframeOption=true&amp;amp;idp=45169&quot; style=&quot;border-width: 0px; width: 182px; height: 277px; overflow: hidden;&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For a showing of this home please call &lt;strong&gt;Western MA REALTOR&lt;/strong&gt;, Lesley Lambert at 413-575-3611.&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:49:45 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1273521/victorian-charm-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1255507/westfield-s-colonial-harvest-day</guid>
      <title>Westfield's Colonial Harvest Day</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Come to Westfield, MA on Saturday, September 26, 2009 for the 6th annual Colonial Harvest Day!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/7/2/9/0/ar125389485409279.JPG&quot; height=&quot;217&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;171&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;This fun downtown event will feature antique dealers, fiddlers, Fife &amp;amp; Drum Corps, colonial demonstrations and more!&amp;nbsp; Stroll the leaf lined streets of Westfield and enjoy all the bounty and fun this wonderful city has to offer!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;For more information visit the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.westfieldonweekends.org/index.php?page=events_harvest&quot; title=&quot;Colonial Harvest Day in Westfield, MA&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Westfield On Weekends&lt;/a&gt; page!&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 25 Sep 2009 11:10:54 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1255507/westfield-s-colonial-harvest-day</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1248838/ask-me-how-you-can-receive-a-buyer-stimulus-credit-through-park-square-realty-</guid>
      <title>Ask Me How You Can Receive a Buyer Stimulus Credit Through Park Square Realty!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Yes, you read that correctly and it is super simple!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Step One: Buy your home using a Park Square Realty agent (ME!)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Step Two: Finance your mortgage with Wells Fargo&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Step Three: Close with a partnering attorney&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Step Four: Collect $600 in credits at your closing!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;All buyers are eligible, not limited to first time homebuyers and this credit is good through the end of 2009!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Advantages abound in this program: not only do you get a terrific REALTOR, but a proven mortgage officer and local attorney working on your behalf.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We know that all homebuyers, not just first time homebuyers, are needing a little extra help right now.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Call me today if you are interested in this fantastic program!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Lesley Lambert, Park Square Realty, 413-575-3611&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:33:05 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1248838/ask-me-how-you-can-receive-a-buyer-stimulus-credit-through-park-square-realty-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1218047/family-home-seeks-loving-family-to-share-laughter-and-good-times-</guid>
      <title>Family Home Seeks Loving Family to Share Laughter and Good Times!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;This wonderful home has been graced by a loving family for years.&#160; They have outgrown this space, but this four bedroom ranch in a terrific neighborhood might be the right match for you!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Set on a half acre with a fenced yard and pool, the yard is family friendly and the perfect spot for picnics and ball games.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Four bedrooms and 2 full baths including a MBR suite offer room for everyone?&#160; The finished basement rec room is an added bonus!&#160; Sunken family room is the favorite space of the current owners and is flooded with sunlight and charm.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;iframe src=&quot;http://singlepropertysites.com/display/_widget.php?iFrame=true&amp;amp;asScript=false&amp;amp;s=10&amp;amp;iframeH=277px&amp;amp;iframeW=182px&amp;amp;iframeOption=true&amp;amp;idp=42191&quot; style=&quot;border-width: 0px; width: 182px; height: 277px; overflow: hidden;&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;

If you are a family in search of your new home, don't wait to meet this one!  


To see if you are a match, make an appointment to view by contacting:

&lt;iframe src=&quot;http://www.retaggr.com/Embed/LesleyLambert&quot; frameborder=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;300px&quot; width=&quot;360px&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:32:00 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1218047/family-home-seeks-loving-family-to-share-laughter-and-good-times-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1213094/what-consumers-want-in-their-real-estate-agent</guid>
      <title>What Consumers Want in their Real Estate Agent</title>
      <description>&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;This week I posed this question on my Facebook page: &lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: underline;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: underline;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;What do you look for in your REALTOR? Be specific: internet savvy, traditional advertising, contact, etc&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/4/4/5/7/ar125138415875449.jpg&quot; height=&quot;301&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;536&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I got some excellent answers and they seemed to follow a very common thread.&amp;nbsp; I found it interesting that many of us agents spend a lot of time trying to brand ourselves as being the neighborhood expert, internet specialist, new construction specialist, etc., yet most people answering my question never mentioned a specialty as being important.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://growmyco.typepad.com/company/&quot; title=&quot;Grow My Company&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Christine Pilch &lt;/a&gt;(@christinepilch) said she wants &lt;strong&gt;Honesty and integrity. &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://en-gb.facebook.com/people/Angus-Brewer/1072702176&quot; title=&quot;Angus' Facebook profile&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Angust Brewer&lt;/a&gt;: &lt;strong&gt;Honesty, knowledge, professionalism, integrity, efficiency.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/campo524?ref=ts&quot; title=&quot;Joe's Facebook profile&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Joe Campoleita&lt;/a&gt; (&lt;a href=&quot;http://twitter.com/campo524&quot; title=&quot;Joe's Twitter&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;@campo524&lt;/a&gt;) gave a wealth of info: First, and to me most trusted, would be a &lt;strong&gt;personal recommendation from someone I know.&lt;/strong&gt; Next might be to use the local papers to see who has listings I like in places I would want to live. I would use the internet the same way. Go on local RE firms sites to see what/where they have listings. Now for internet it would probably sway me if the website had a &quot;rating&quot; section in which clients would give a rating and write something about their experience. &lt;strong&gt;In-depth market knowledge is important&lt;/strong&gt;...once I &quot;meet&quot; the agent my expectation is they can effectively discern my needs (both known and unknown...meaning the client might not really understand their needs) and match those needs to what the market has available. Needs based sales and marketing.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.facebook.com/people/Erica-Vogel-Mulinare/1411892311&quot; title=&quot;Erica's Facebook profile&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Erica Mulinare &lt;/a&gt;gave a &quot;funny&quot; (not really) accounting of what happened to her parents: How about someone who doesn't bring a bottle of wine to a showing and drink it while sitting in the owner's chaise lounge while the prospective buyers, the realtor's friends, are walking around the house.  ...happened to my parents... they didn't think it was really too big a deal becuase the people bought the house, but I wouldn't be happy at all! (hehe).&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;While I do spend a significant amount of my marketing time on the internet, and tout myself as being a tech savvy REALTOR (google my name), I try to always keep customer service at the forefront.&amp;nbsp; After these answers I realize that all the other efforts that I make as an agent might set me apart in a a branding or niche sense, but at the end of the day my clients want &lt;strong&gt;honesty, integrity, knowledge and professionalism.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I can do that!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In fact, I have been doing that for 21 years in the Western Massachusetts Real Estate field!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Have something to add?&amp;nbsp; Share with us so I can learn from you, too!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:09:09 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1213094/what-consumers-want-in-their-real-estate-agent</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1174145/so-many-heads-in-the-sand-why-foreclosures-happen-</guid>
      <title>So Many Heads in the Sand: Why Foreclosures Happen.</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://agentgenius.com/g-rants-insanity-more/real-estate/so-many-heads-in-the-sand-why-foreclosures-happen/&quot; title=&quot;Lesley Lambert on Agent Genius&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;My newest article&lt;/a&gt; is up at Agent Genius Magazine where I am a featured writer on the topic of homeowners in distress.&amp;nbsp; I find that many agents fail to empathize properly with homeowners going through a troubled time and worse than that: fail to HELP.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Take a look at &lt;a href=&quot;http://agentgenius.com/g-rants-insanity-more/real-estate/so-many-heads-in-the-sand-why-foreclosures-happen/&quot; title=&quot;Lesley Lambert on Agent Genius&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;my article&lt;/a&gt; which explains my thoughts as to the reasons for foreclosures and how I think each of us can help many people avoid the worst.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We are in a unique position to stop foreclosure before it happens if we are informed, concerned and involved!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If you or someone you know is in a situation due to: divorce, lost job, illness or injury, subprime mortgage, sinking home values or for any other reason: visit my site:&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.westfieldhomehelp.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt; Westfield Home Help&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; This site is designed to show homeowners in the Westfield, MA and surrounding areas that they aren't alone and there is help available.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:27:04 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1174145/so-many-heads-in-the-sand-why-foreclosures-happen-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1172552/fabulous-restoration-potential-in-this-antique-colonial-farmhouse-in-western-massachusetts</guid>
      <title>Fabulous Restoration Potential in this Antique Colonial Farmhouse in Western Massachusetts</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Located on a pastoral 2 acre lot in the Mundale section of Westfield, MA is this historically significant Colonial.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Boasting 5 bedrooms with the potential for a first floor Master Suite, this home is large (2488square feet!) and has architectural integrity.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Loving families have inhabited these gracious walls since the mid 1800's and your family can be the next!&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;iframe src=&quot;http://singlepropertysites.com/display/_widget.php?iFrame=true&amp;amp;asScript=false&amp;amp;s=10&amp;amp;iframeH=277px&amp;amp;iframeW=182px&amp;amp;iframeOption=true&amp;amp;idp=39967&quot; style=&quot;border-width: 0px; width: 182px; height: 277px; overflow: hidden;&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For more information, photos, historic documention and video visit the website at http://www.1046granvilleroad.com&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;

Contact Lesley Lambert of Park Square Realty at 413-575-3611 or @LesleyLambert on Twitter or email therealestatenatural@yahoo.com for your private viewing of this wonderful opportunity.</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:17:40 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1172552/fabulous-restoration-potential-in-this-antique-colonial-farmhouse-in-western-massachusetts</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1146503/first-time-homebuyers-what-are-you-waiting-for-</guid>
      <title>First Time HomeBuyers, What Are You Waiting For?</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;The clock is ticking on the time left to take advantage of your &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/2009/index.html&quot; title=&quot;Tax Credit &quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;first time homebuyer tax credit! &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;embed name=&quot;countdown&quot; bgcolor=&quot;#ffffff&quot; src=&quot;http://www.magicwidgets.com/widgets/mw-cd-countdown/show.swf?clickURL=http://www.magicwidgets.com/&amp;amp;clickLABEL=Countdown Timers&amp;amp;flashLABEL=Magic Widgets&amp;amp;skin=http://www.magicwidgets.com/widgets/mw-cd-countdown/skins/a40.swf&amp;amp;text=%0D%0DThe%20First%20Time%20Home%20Buyer%20Tax%20Credit%20Ends%21&amp;amp;untilColor=6724095&amp;amp;textColor=0&amp;amp;datesColor=0&amp;amp;year=2009&amp;amp;month=11&amp;amp;day=1&amp;amp;hour=12&amp;amp;minute=0&amp;amp;second=0&amp;amp;x=6&amp;amp;y=77&quot; pluginspage=&quot;http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer&quot; type=&quot;application/x-shockwave-flash&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; width=&quot;300&quot;&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;small&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.magicwidgets.com/&quot;&gt;Countdown Timers&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/small&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I have had many young buyers ask me if I really think now is the right time for them to purchase a home.  The answer is YES and not only because I would love to help them.  I would say yes to these young people even if I wasn't involved in the real estate industry and this is why:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;#1- The tax credit.  I had a buyer purchase a home in Springfield, MA,  file an amended tax return and get her $8,000 within two weeks after closing!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;#2- Home prices.  It seems to be unanimous that home values have tabled in the Western Massachusetts area.  Buyers can enjoy the benefit of the 5-9% deflation in home values since 2005. Values have tabled and are expected to start gaining in certain areas.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;#3- Interest rates.  While they have been fluctuating over the past few weeks, an FHA mortgage remains a great option for almost all first time homebuyers.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For more information on &lt;a href=&quot;http://lesleylambert.com/channels/home_buying/topics/i_love_first_time_homebuyers&quot; title=&quot;I love first time homebuyers&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;buying your first home see &lt;/a&gt;my series of informational videos that cover the process from shopping to &lt;a href=&quot;http://lesleylambert.com/channels/home_buying/topics/first_time_homebuyers_inspections&quot; title=&quot;Inspections&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;inspections and beyond&lt;/a&gt;.  If you have questions about the &lt;a href=&quot;http://lesleylambert.com/channels/home_buying/topics/first_time_home_buyer_tax_credit&quot; title=&quot;Tax Credit Explained&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;tax credit, &lt;/a&gt;buying your first home or real estate in general, please feel free to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.therealestatenatural.com&quot; title=&quot;My website&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;contact me&lt;/a&gt; anytime!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.twitter.com/LesleyLambert&quot; title=&quot;Follow Me on Twitter&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Follow me on Twitter!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:33:31 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1146503/first-time-homebuyers-what-are-you-waiting-for-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1124983/social-media-bootcamp-in-nyc-</guid>
      <title>Social Media BootCamp in NYC!</title>
      <description>&lt;strong&gt;We are excited about this day of learning, sharing and social media fun!&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;span style=&quot;color: #df0101;&quot;&gt;The day kicks off with a unique opportunity to go behind the scenes at the CBS Early Show! Meet in the Grand Hyatt Lobby at 6:30am. We will head to GM Square to watch the show followed by a backstage tour! &lt;span style=&quot;color: #df0101;&quot;&gt; &lt;strong&gt;We return to the Grand Hyatt NYC for our Social Media Bootcamp&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #df0101;&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://api.ning.com/files/K4PV5zq6e3RgVrD9qtEe-7CSgVPnQbzl5P*6siS8jPRw-QOifaarAz883JuinuhS3iIKAvmKAccDZM*4P5a8tWGY3OsTg2e2/135.JPG&quot; height=&quot;411&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;578&quot; /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;span style=&quot;color: #df0101;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #08088a;&quot;&gt; 11AM- &lt;a href=&quot;http://twitterqueens.ning.com/profiles/blogs/twitterqueens-website-makeover&quot;&gt;Jason Turcotte with Website Makeover Reveal&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #df0101;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #08088a;&quot;&gt;Noon- &lt;a href=&quot;http://twitterqueens.ning.com/profiles/blogs/twitter-101-at-tqnyc-social&quot;&gt;Morriss Partee with Twitter 101&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #df0101;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #08088a;&quot;&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://tqinc.wordpress.com/diane-guercio/&quot;&gt;Diane Guercio with Microcultures &lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #df0101;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #08088a;&quot;&gt;1pm &lt;a href=&quot;http://twitterqueens.ning.com/profiles/blogs/tqnyc-social-media-bootcamp&quot;&gt;Jennifer Shaheen with Creating Your Social Media Plan&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://tqinc.wordpress.com/lesley-lambert/&quot;&gt;Lesley Lambert with Mobile Apps on your Smart Phone&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #df0101;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #08088a;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://tqinc.wordpress.com/lesley-lambert/&quot;&gt; &lt;/a&gt; 2pm lunch, network, Michelle Weber with Gyrotonics &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #df0101;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #08088a;&quot;&gt; 3pm &lt;a href=&quot;http://twitterqueens.ning.com/profiles/blogs/rocking-your-inbound-marketing&quot;&gt;Rebecca Corliss with Inbound Marketing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #df0101;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #08088a;&quot;&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://tqinc.wordpress.com/maya-paveza/&quot;&gt;Maya Paveza with Social Media Overview&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #df0101;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #08088a;&quot;&gt;4pm &lt;a href=&quot;http://twitterqueens.ning.com/profiles/blogs/making-whuffie-with-the&quot;&gt;Bill Lublin with Whuffie&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #df0101;&quot;&gt; In addition to these sessions we will have one &quot;Open Session&quot; each hour. You can use this slot to request a course or volunteer to teach a session.  We will have a post session gathering place announced the morning of the event so the fun and sharing can continue into the evening!&lt;/span&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Not registered yet? What are you waiting for? Go to our &lt;a href=&quot;http://twitterqueensnyc.eventbrite.com/&quot;&gt;registration page&lt;/a&gt; now!&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:24:30 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1124983/social-media-bootcamp-in-nyc-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1121730/want-a-free-registration-and-hotel-for-twitterqueens-social-media-bootcamp-</guid>
      <title>Want a Free Registration and Hotel for TwitterQueens Social Media Bootcamp?</title>
      <description>&lt;center&gt;&lt;b&gt;Want a free VIP stay in NYC for the TwitterQueens event 6/27?&lt;/b&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamcomerford/419134483/&quot; title=&quot;Adam_Stamp_Shamrockfest_VIP_Over-21 by Adam Comerford, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm1.static.flickr.com/125/419134483_bbd5078cb8.jpg&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;Adam_Stamp_Shamrockfest_VIP_Over-21&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;em&gt;TwitterQueens Inaugural event is going to rock NYC and you should be there!&lt;/em&gt;

We are giving away ONE VIP registration and two nights at the Grand Hyatt Hotel:
Tweet: #twitterqueens- choose me for VIP hotel and event registration because (give us a great reason) and you will be joining some of the most amazing social media people for an exciting educational and FUN event.

Visit the &lt;a href=&quot;http://twitterqueensnyc.eventbrite.com/&quot;&gt;event site&lt;/a&gt; for full details of the function. Now get tweeting!&lt;/center&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:09:40 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1121730/want-a-free-registration-and-hotel-for-twitterqueens-social-media-bootcamp-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1121725/38-crown-street-westfield-ma-cute-cape-available-immediately-</guid>
      <title>38 Crown Street, Westfield, MA - Cute Cape Available Immediately!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Be sure to see this great first time homebuyer home!&#160; Vinyl siding, replacement windows, updated kitchen, fenced yard, one car garage, large master bedroom, immaculate move in condition!&lt;/p&gt;


&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;iframe src=&quot;http://singlepropertysites.com/display/_widget.php?iFrame=true&amp;amp;asScript=false&amp;amp;s=10&amp;amp;iframeH=277px&amp;amp;iframeW=182px&amp;amp;iframeOption=true&amp;amp;idp=42606&quot; style=&quot;border-width: 0px; width: 182px; height: 277px; overflow: hidden;&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2009 12:07:53 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1121725/38-crown-street-westfield-ma-cute-cape-available-immediately-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1100751/what-blogging-and-social-media-can-do-for-your-business-</guid>
      <title>What Blogging and Social Media Can Do For Your Business!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;I started blogging last year and my committment to steady and informative blogging has changed my business completely.&#160; I created this funny video to demonstrate the impact in a short time...enjoy!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;object height=&quot;344&quot; width=&quot;425&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;movie&quot; value=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/V4ChuT6KDMI&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1&amp;amp;rel=0&amp;amp;color1=0x5d1719&amp;amp;color2=0xcd311b&quot;&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;allowFullScreen&quot; value=&quot;true&quot;&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;allowscriptaccess&quot; value=&quot;always&quot;&gt;&lt;/param&gt;&lt;embed src=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/V4ChuT6KDMI&amp;amp;hl=en&amp;amp;fs=1&amp;amp;rel=0&amp;amp;color1=0x5d1719&amp;amp;color2=0xcd311b&quot; type=&quot;application/x-shockwave-flash&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;true&quot; allowscriptaccess=&quot;always&quot; height=&quot;344&quot; width=&quot;425&quot;&gt;&lt;/embed&gt;&lt;/object&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:13:28 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1100751/what-blogging-and-social-media-can-do-for-your-business-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1091331/21-day-blogging-improvement-challenge-rebcphl-</guid>
      <title>21 Day Blogging Improvement Challenge (REBCPHL)</title>
      <description>Wheeeeeeeeeeeee! #21DBIH</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2009 23:02:33 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1091331/21-day-blogging-improvement-challenge-rebcphl-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1089838/swimming-upstream</guid>
      <title>Swimming Upstream</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Today I had my first experience at the fish elevator at the Holyoke Dam in Holyoke, MA.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I have lived in Western MA my whole life and somehow missed out on this curiosity until today.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;At the Hadley Falls in Holyoke Ma the annual migration of anadromous fish is no small affair. A visit to the&#160; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.hged.com/html/hadley_falls_fish_lift.html&quot; title=&quot;Holyoke Dam&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;website &lt;/a&gt;explains the technical aspects.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I stood watching the fish through the observation windows with my daughters and I listened to my guide and date explain to us that these fish are swimming up the river to mate and then die.&#160;&#160; This brutal trip takes them up the rocky Connecticut River where they cease to eat.&#160; Eventually they make it to Holyoke, where the dam constructed in 1849 prevented them from migrating.&#160; The once plentiful shad and salmon of the river valley were extinct to this region until the first fish lift was built at the Holyoke Dam in 1955.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;

&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/28347007@N04/2645378947/&quot; title=&quot;American Shad by bkopinto, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3153/2645378947_4570a6447e.jpg&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;American Shad&quot; width=&quot;500&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;After watching the complicated process that ushers the fish into the elevator and seeing them deposited into the tank, we made our way to the viewing windows.&#160; There we were met with&#160; busy scene encompassing hundreds of shad, one salmon, many lampreys and some tiger striped bass.&#160; The shad, in particular, were looking worse for the wear on their journey.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Several seemed bitten, one had almost lost an eye and another had a fish hook hanging from a side gill.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I can't relate to their ultimate and undeniable goal of mating, but I have swam upstream.&#160; I did it for a long time and I think I have a few scars from the hooks and bites along the way.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I am unsure about the nature of these fish or what drives them upstream to fullfil their destiny.&#160; But I did get a glimmer about myself during my observations today: I&#160; swam upstream HARD for years.&#160; I thought I was doing what I was supposed to do.&#160; I made promises and set goals and was determined that I would do things RIGHT.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Well, that didn't work out much better for me than it does your average salmon (except of course I don't have to expire), but it did teach me a lot.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As I stood next to this great man watching our children meet for the first time it occurred to me that life doesn't have to be a constant struggle with unattainable goals at the brink.&#160; Life can be spontaneous, sweet and easy:if you let it.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You can swim upstream....I am going to follow the course downstream and guide it the best I can while I let life ebb and flow around me in a beautiful froth.&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So, thank you Morriss for sharing today with me...you teach me something new all the time, even when you don't realize that is what you did.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Mon, 25 May 2009 20:51:19 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1089838/swimming-upstream</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1084237/i-love-first-time-homebuyers-</guid>
      <title>I Love First Time HomeBuyers!</title>
      <description>&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;In my over 20 year career the one client that has always been a favorite is the first time homebuyer.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;What isn't to love about the flush of excitement as a young adult sheds the protection of parents, landlords or school and makes the decision to strike out on their own?&amp;nbsp; Their energy is contagious and they are open to education and guidance.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;These fledgling buyers almost always do everything on time and as you requested because they don't have the bad habits of more &quot;experienced&quot; buyers.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;I am working with a series of first time homebuyers lately, most of them are young women (neat!) and have been caught up in their excitment.&amp;nbsp; There were issues with the last two closings, but these ladies kept their cool, took my (very good) advice and hung in there while things were sorted out.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/28352469@N04/3549221709/&quot; title=&quot;Inside thank you by therealestatenatural, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3317/3549221709_e96a86cc4a.jpg&quot; height=&quot;273&quot; alt=&quot;Inside thank you&quot; width=&quot;255&quot; style=&quot;float: right;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;Getting to the closing with these buyers has been so much fun....seeing them take the keys to their new home is a gift to my spirit.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;What is even better is the recognition and thanks that they freely offer to me.&amp;nbsp; Both young ladies are having me to their new home after they settle in and both stay in touch with me regularly.&amp;nbsp; One of them texted me when she hung the &quot;Welcome Home&quot; picture I gave her and today I got a thank you note in the mail from another.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;What could be a better feeling than opening up a note like this?:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: left;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2009 19:05:15 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1084237/i-love-first-time-homebuyers-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1083576/activerain-visits-new-castle-county-board-of-realtors</guid>
      <title>ActiveRain Visits New Castle County Board of Realtors</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I can't wait!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div id=&quot;reblogging_tag&quot;&gt;Via &lt;b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://activerain.com/blogsview/1082837/activerain-visits-new-castle-county-board-of-realtors&quot;&gt;Jeremy Blanton (ActiveRain Corp.)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;:&lt;br/&gt;&lt;blockquote&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://nccbor.com&quot; title=&quot;New Castle County Board of REALTORS&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/2/8/7/2/ar124279265427829.png&quot; height=&quot;101&quot; alt=&quot;NCCBOR&quot; width=&quot;364&quot; style=&quot;border: 1px solid black; margin: 10px; float: right;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;For those of you that live in the Philadelphia/Delaware area, I have some exciting news for you!&amp;nbsp; The &lt;a href=&quot;http://nccbor.com&quot; title=&quot;New Castle County Board of REALTORS&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;New Castle County Board of REALTORS&amp;reg;&lt;/a&gt; have planned a great event to help anyone in the real estate industry.&amp;nbsp; On May 28th they will have a lunch &amp;amp; learn session on social media.&amp;nbsp; I will be presenting along with &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;TwitterQueen&lt;/a&gt; founders &lt;a href=&quot;http://activerain.com/lesleyjl&quot; title=&quot;Lesley Lambert&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Lesley Lambert&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=&quot;http://activerain.com/dianeguercio&quot; title=&quot;@heyamaretto&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Diane Guercio&lt;/a&gt;, &amp;amp; &lt;a href=&quot;http://activerain.com/mayareguru&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Maya Paveza&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The event is free and seating is limited, so make sure you register immediately.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Here is a brief rundown of what will be discussed:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;ul&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Blogging 101- How to start blogging and use it for business by me.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sex, Lies and Videotape- making your blog more attractive to traffic by Lesley Lambert&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Social Media and Your Business by Maya Paveza&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Building a Social Media Microculture for Hyperlocal  Traffic by Diane Guercio&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;/li&gt;
&lt;li&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Open Discussion on how Twitter &amp;amp; Facebook can be profitable.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/li&gt;
&lt;/ul&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;This event will take place on May 28th 11:30-1PM.&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; It will be held at the New Castle County Board of REALTORS office.&amp;nbsp; Seating is limited and will be on a first come first serve basis. &lt;strong&gt;The Address is 3615 Miller Road, Wilmington, DE 19802 (302) 762-4800&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;To register, visit &lt;a href=&quot;http://nccbor.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;http://www.nccbor.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. If you are a NCCBOR member, click on the blue LOGIN button on the right, enter your login and password, press submit, scroll down to and click on &amp;ldquo;Register for Events&amp;rdquo;, click on Soc Networking &amp;ndash; Twitter Queens(LL0509), follow the registration prompts and you will receive an email confirmation of registration.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;If you are not a member, click on the blue LOGIN button on the right, click on the link titled &amp;ldquo;Not a member &amp;ndash; click here&amp;rdquo;, complete the new account form (you choose your login ID and password), after pressing submit, you can then follow registration instructions above.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For those of you who are not able to attend this event live, you can follow updates about it on &lt;a href=&quot;http://twitter.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Twitter&lt;/a&gt; at #NCCBOR.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/6/3/7/5/ar124282764057367.jpg&quot; height=&quot;107&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;150&quot; style=&quot;border: 1px solid black; margin: 10px; vertical-align: text-bottom;&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2009 10:11:34 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1083576/activerain-visits-new-castle-county-board-of-realtors</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1074661/twitterqueens-on-parade-bound-to-be-a-royally-good-time-</guid>
      <title>TwitterQueens On Parade...Bound to Be a Royally Good Time!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.flickr.com/photos/marvind/2367494248/&quot; title=&quot;Announcing new Disqus new comment and discussion system by mdouble, on Flickr&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3085/2367494248_2016dd0be1.jpg&quot; height=&quot;228&quot; alt=&quot;Announcing new Disqus new comment and discussion system&quot; width=&quot;252&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Hear Ye! Hear Ye! This is a royal proclamation announcing that TwitterQueens, Inc. and the lovely Queens themselves will be making several royal appearances over the next few months!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;TwitterQueens, Inc. is a proud sponsor of &lt;a href=&quot;http://rebarcamp.com/philadelphia/2009/05/the-21-day-blogging-challenge/&quot; title=&quot;RE Barcamp Philly&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;RE Barcamp Philedelphia&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; We are also volunteering at the breakout sessions and will be attending Beer With Bloggers the night before.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;We are also a proud sponsor of &lt;a href=&quot;http://rebarcampboston.com/sponsors/&quot; title=&quot;RE Barcamp Boston&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;RE Barcamp Boston&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;Our own webite is boasting a retinue of fabulous tweetups, gatherings and most importantly:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://twitterqueens.ning.com/events/twitterqueens-inaugural-event&quot; title=&quot;TwitterQueens Inaugural Event&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;TwitterQueens NYC!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;This fabulous event will boast fantastic breakout sessions with powerhouse presenters and content.&amp;nbsp; We are also very excited to share our &lt;a href=&quot;http://twitterqueens.ning.com/events/twitterqueens-inaugural-event&quot; title=&quot;Website Makeover&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Website MakeOver Contest&lt;/a&gt;!&amp;nbsp; See my blog on &lt;a href=&quot;http://twitterqueens.ning.com/events/twitterqueens-inaugural-event&quot; title=&quot;Website Makeover&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;TwitterQueens&lt;/a&gt; site for full details of this great opportunity!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;We hope that we will have the opportunity to meet many of you in person at these wonderful events and for those of you curious about the mission of TwitterQueens, Inc please visit &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.twitterqueens.net&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;TwitterQueens&lt;/a&gt; and take a look around...we would love for you to join us!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;twitterqueens logo&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/9/4/1/1/ar124224017011497.jpg&quot; height=&quot;161&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;227&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Wed, 13 May 2009 13:47:54 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1074661/twitterqueens-on-parade-bound-to-be-a-royally-good-time-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1070631/why-my-mother-is-the-most-amazing-woman</guid>
      <title>Why My Mother is the Most Amazing Woman</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Meet my mom, Shelley Weber.&amp;nbsp; I know you probably think your mom is the most amazing mom, but my mom is more than just that: she is the most amazing woman I know.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;mom&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/9/1/4/1/ar124199773214193.jpg&quot; height=&quot;248&quot; alt=&quot;Mom with Sister and Daughter&quot; width=&quot;330&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My mom has been at turns: a nurse, go-go dancer, sister, best friend, wife, business woman, bridal gown saleswoman, x-ray technician, meditation specialist, guitar player and singer, aunt, militant mom, poet, photographer, artist, cheerleader (for my sister and I) and most of all, my mentor and role model.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In every situation my mom would bring positive thoughts, care and concern and proactive energy.&amp;nbsp; She taught me to meditate to reign in my youthful anxieties and temper: skills that I still tap into daily.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Mom showed my sister and I that sisters were precious and valuable and succeeded in teaching us to be more than just sisters...best friends and support for life.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Mom personifies strength. If you have a problem, there is no one that you would rather have by your side.&amp;nbsp; She will slay dragons, bolster confidence and subdue fear with seemingly no effort.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Mom built an empire to care for my sister and I.&amp;nbsp; She did it with love, generosity, skill, determination and perserverance.&amp;nbsp; My sister and I are blessed to have had hands on experience watching her master the real estate business and succeed over difficulty time and time again.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;When times were tough, Mom met them with a shrug and a smile.&amp;nbsp; Out of money after paying bills...&quot;It's only money, I can make some more&quot; was her mantra.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I was never faced with a mother who was uncertain or afraid. I know now that she surely was terrified, but she never showed us that...she was a fierce warrior who would triumph because she knew she had to.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My mom let us have Strawberry Shortcake for dinner and eat lobsters until we were sated.&amp;nbsp; One year the lobster gorging lasted almost a week culminating in a lobster so huge that I had to use a sledge hammer on the claws.&amp;nbsp; Mom is FUN.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Mom instilled a love of books, music and movies: things we still share together.&amp;nbsp; One year it was just mom and I for Thanksgiving.&amp;nbsp; We made dinner in our jammies and ate in front of the tv watching the all day series of &quot;A Year In Provence&quot; on PBS.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Mom made us take stock in beauty and gave us the confidence to demonstrate our artistic skills.&amp;nbsp; We took sketching trips, we sang and put on shows, we wrote stories and poetry, we danced and danced and danced some more. Mom caravaned my sister and I to art lessons,dance lessons, acting lessons,voice lessons....&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We had adventures!&amp;nbsp; We traveled for dance and family and we explored historical and natural places or the city...we were on the move. From NYC to Florida, Mom was ready for a road trip with a packed cooler, a blender for margaritas and a go-get 'em attitude.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My mother bucked the system.&amp;nbsp; She stood up for my sister and I when we were brave enough to buck it, too and she let us know that the BEST thing we could be was free thinking and independent.&amp;nbsp; She let me wear safety pins for earrings, gave me my first &quot;new wave&quot;haircut and let me get the trendiest punk rock outfits.&amp;nbsp; She loved us for who we were, not some version that society &quot;thought' we should be&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Mom was TOUGH. There were no corners to cut and no excuses.&amp;nbsp; Mom gave her all and she expected nothing less in return.&amp;nbsp; We were expected to work hard, cooperate and help the family along; there were no free rides.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;My mom taught me the value of being flexible and adapting to the changes in life.&amp;nbsp; This is something I still work on, but Mom has paved the way for me.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I hesitate to say my mom is better than yours because I haven't met all of your moms, but I can say that my mom is better than any other I have ever met.&amp;nbsp; If you find me to be strong, smart, adventurous, silly or brave it is because I learned it from her.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Thank you Mom......&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I LOVE YOU.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sun, 10 May 2009 18:49:19 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1070631/why-my-mother-is-the-most-amazing-woman</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1063618/western-massachusetts-you-re-hot-then-you-re-cold-a-realtor-s-musings-on-a-strange-love-</guid>
      <title>Western Massachusetts: You're Hot Then You're Cold! A REALTOR'S Musings on a Strange Love.</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;April 28, 2009, Westfield, MA...no one knows how to dress today.&amp;nbsp; It is 95 degrees and everyone is complaining about it being too hot, too soon.&amp;nbsp; The daffodils and tulips are wilted in protest and I didn't unpack my summer clothes yet...what happened to spring?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;May 5th, 2009, Westfield, MA...I sit in my office shivering.&amp;nbsp; I unpacked the summer clothes and now I am ready to go unpack the sweaters!&amp;nbsp; Again I&amp;nbsp; sit wondering where did Spring go?&amp;nbsp; It is raining, which isn't so odd, but it is CCCCCoold today.&amp;nbsp; Isn't it supposed to be warm in May?&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Well, after living here my whole life I can attest to that old adage:&amp;nbsp; If you don't like the weather, just wait a minute, it will change!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I have been asked numerous times why I wouldn't like to move somewhere with a better climate.&amp;nbsp; Friends who have gone South or who live in temperate California wonder what could be appealing about what I just described above.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;When they ask this I usually shrug and respond: &quot;Well, it is never boring.&quot;&amp;nbsp; Truthfully, though, it is a lot more than that. So here is my list of why I love Western Massachusetts even though the weather is tempermental:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---It is gorgeous.&amp;nbsp; Lush, green, picturesque and beautiful.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---I adore the seasons.&amp;nbsp; All of them.&amp;nbsp; Yes, I even like winter!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---My favorite people are here!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---My career is here and I love my job.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---2 hours to Boston or 3 hours to NYC when I need a big city fix&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---1 hour or less to great skiing&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---2 hours to the beach&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---Great safe community&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---Outstanding support of the arts and culture&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---Amazingly gifted, generous and intelligent people&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---Excellent colleges and schools&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;---So many amazing outdoor activities available&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So even though I don't always love the extremes in the weather, I always love it here.&amp;nbsp; I travel and can't wait to get home to my little corner of the world: (of course the two sweeties are the best part of my home!)&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;Western MA beauty!&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/4/0/8/8/3/ar124154656638804.JPG&quot; height=&quot;600&quot; alt=&quot;Lesley Lambert and her girls in Beautiful Western MA&quot; width=&quot;800&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Lesley Lambert, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.therealestatenatural.com/&quot; title=&quot;My real estate website&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;The Real Estate Natural&lt;/a&gt; at Park Square Realty AND Member of the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.twitterqueens.net&quot; title=&quot;#twitterqueens&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;#twitterqueens&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 05 May 2009 13:09:18 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1063618/western-massachusetts-you-re-hot-then-you-re-cold-a-realtor-s-musings-on-a-strange-love-</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1062731/fantastic-building-lot-available-in-springfield-ma-</guid>
      <title>Fantastic Building Lot Available in Springfield, MA!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;221 A Chalmers Street, Springfield is available for you to build your dream home!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;iframe src=&quot;http://singlepropertysites.com/display/_widget.php?iFrame=true&amp;amp;asScript=false&amp;amp;s=10&amp;amp;iframeH=277px&amp;amp;iframeW=182px&amp;amp;iframeOption=true&amp;amp;idp=41172&quot; style=&quot;border-width: 0px; width: 182px; height: 277px; overflow: hidden;&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;

Nestled in between two quaint Cape's, this wonderful Springfield neighborhood has a great building lot ready for you to build a home! This exclusive East Forest Park neighborhood is the perfect place to build your dream home.

Within walking distance is Frederick Harris Elementary School, Holy Cross Church, Cathedral High School, Nathan Bill Park, Gus and Paul's Deli and Bakery and more, this professional and family based neighborhood is the ideal place to build a home! Conveniently located on a bus route, away from the sound's of the city but yet in the midst of urban amenities, you will be taken aback to the rural feel of this charming neighborhood. This is a quiet neighborhood with minimal traffic.

If Springfield is where you want to live, then this is the perfect lot for you. The lot already has a driveway curb cut, has no sidewalks, great neighbors, no existing house across the street from it, and is fenced in on one side and the back. It is perfect site for a Cape or small Colonial home.

Call Lesley Lambert at 413-575-3611 for more information!</description>
      <dc:creator>Lesley Lambert (413-575-3611) Real Estate Agent,Realtor,Westfield, MA, (Park Square Realty serving Western MA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Mon, 04 May 2009 21:25:29 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/1062731/fantastic-building-lot-available-in-springfield-ma-</link>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>
