My email just alerted me to several weather warnings for the Central Florida area....

Typically these warnings are regarding tornadoes, hurricanes, hail, flooding, tropical storms... Today they are for wind chill advisories, freeze and frost warnings, and red flag warnings!

It's barely even half-way through November! We are in for a colder-than-normal winter this year, Florida! Bust out your scarves, mittens, boots... and bundle up the kiddos! Brrrrr!!!!

PLAYGROUND Magazine and Anne Rue Interiors are hosting "Art at the Market,"a charity art show benefiting the Ronald McDonald House.

Food from Harmoni Market, Wine from Wine Styles, Beer from Peroni and Schenck, Cupcakes from Anna Cakes and the hottest DJ in town spinning on the terrace.

HEATERS will be provided to keep everyone warm!!

• Date: Thursday, November 20, 2008
• Time: 6-9pm
• Location: Winter Park Farmers' Market (Corner of New England and New York), Winter Park, FL

(***Note: This is not my event, and I am not affiliated with the organizations participating in this event. I hope you will attend in support of a wonderful cause!)

Be a hero and give blood! The Mortgage Firm, Inc. is holding a Blood Drive in conjunction with Florida's Blood Centers. If you are in the area and have time, they are always looking for heroes!

• What:     Blood Drive
• Where:   The Mortgage Firm, 921 Douglas Ave, Altamonte Springs, FL 32714
• When:    Wednesday, November 19th, 10am-4pm
• Why:      Giving blood costs you nothing and means so much to people in need of transfusions, trauma patients, chemotherapy patients.... The list goes on!
• How:      Just stop by or call 407-539-3476 ext 221 for an appointment.

PLEASE REMEMBER YOUR PHOTO ID!

Donors may receive thank you gifts such as:

• Buy One, Get One admission to Gatorland
• 50% off tickets for Gaylord Palms ICE!
• Coupon for FREE Papa Johns breadsticks
• Free mini physical to check your blood pressure, iron level, cholesterol and more!

This time of year, it is so important to help our area's blood supplies. This year, more than ever, it is more difficult to contribute financially to charitable organizations. This is one donation that costs you NOTHING! It only takes a few minutes of your time! Please stop by!

So, I started wondering about the phenomenon of twitter -- a bit narcissistic, a bit voyeuristic, a bit inspiring... It seems people really like to "follow" people. We are like sheep flocking together looking for comfort.

We all find great comfort on ActiveRain, and feel inspired by others ramblings. What if we could "follow" one another on the ActiveRain website. Where would people see you going? What would they see you doing? How do you spend your time on ActiveRain?

Here is a typical ActiveRain session for me:

I get to the office at about 7:45am with my cup of Starbucks. I log-in to ActiveRain. My first stop is to check my points balance and see if my ranking has changed from the last log-in. I then hit my favorite blogs and catch up on what my buddies have posted. I make comments if I have something worthwhile to say. Then, I check the most recent blogs and do the same. By now, I have usually hit my 10 comments for which I earn points per day. I don't stop here though. Points are not my entire motivation for being on ActiveRain, ya know?!

If I have an idea for a blog post, I begin working on that. Sometimes, I free-think(like this post) and other times, I write it all out, format with color and font, pictures, etc. It really just depends on my mood and how quickly I need to get my thoughts together before heaidng into my busy work day!

If I have appointments or other tasks at hand, I step away from ActiveRain. I always try to return in the afternoon or evening to see what people have replied and/or posted on my blog or others that I found interesting.

I try to start and end my workday in the Rain. It helps me stay "grounded" and connected to my fellow Rainers!

If I could follow you on ActiveRain, what would I see???

News Flash!!! Walter Rentz is now a member of ActiveRain!  Please join me in welcoming him to Active Rain and showing him the ropes! He is a fabulous person and a true professional and I am proud to invite him into the Rain!

Thanks for joining us, Walter! I am sure you will make many wonderful connections on here! Remember to take it to the next level and build relationships to grow your business! Let me know how I can help you!

I may get blasted for this, but had to ask... I am not sure if anyone has blogged about this before. But I am sick to death of hearing about the hand-outs being passed around so freely to people who cannot/did not honor their agreement to pay their lender. Where does someone like me (who pays as agreed, and on time) get a hand-out bail-out?

Is there anything in the works to reward those of us scraping by and making ends meet by sacrificing in other areas of their budget? How about the fact that I am probably upside down in my home and don't qualify for a short-sale, don't qualify for a modification, but don't want to owe more than my house is worth??? Come on, Congress, where's my assistance package?

I got an update from a friend on Facebook who works in the mortgage biz and her status update at almost 10am today was that she is "taking the dog to the groomer!" Now, I am sure that is not the office pet, so it must be her personal errands... How do so many people have the flexibility to be out of the office so much?

I am the Marketing Director for a title company... Our staff is in the office now more than ever before! I am still out and about on marketing visits, lunch and coffee appointments, and networking events... but what about everyone else?

It seems that so many Realtors and Mortgage Professionals are never hardly ever in their brick-and-mortar offices anymore... Am I wrong? Or are there that many companies/brokers/etc.  that allow you the freedom to work from home and go out on appointments as needed? Do you ever have a need to be in the office anymore?

You could really help me build a case to present to my employer regarding tele-commuting! ;-)

Thanks for your insight!

If the election were today as you did a week ago? I ask this, because I wonder how many people regret the way they voted...

I, for one, do not have any regrets about my decisions on the ballot. I am just curious how many people (based on what they have seen or haven't seen in the media) have changed their mind at all...

It's still so hard to believe that only a week ago we were at the end of a 21+ month campaign run that ended in a historic turnout and outcome. Now we have all buckled down for the bumpy ride that we are on.

So, Sean Hester is drinking the Kool-Aid now! Please join me in welcoming him to Active Rain and showing him the ropes! He is a fabulous person and a true professional and I am proud to invite him into the Rain!

Thanks for joining us, Sean! I am sure you will make many wonderful connections on here! Remember to take it to the next level and build relationships to grow your business! Let me know how I can help you!