With all the pessimistic viewpoints on television and in water cooler conversations you are almost predestined to feel like the sky is falling.  BE OPTIMISTIC!! Make yourself happy! Gas is HALF the price it used to be!! We are rebounding from the down stock market and real estate lulls. Considering the low prices and interest rates, could it not be a BETTER time to buy a home, investment property..or anything else for that matter?  It is how you LET things affect YOU that determines your happiness. I always say, "Don't let someone rent space in your head"...meaning, don't let the negative person or situations control you.

Ok..so what makes me happy? A few things that make me happy are to feel that I'm loved, respected, and admired by others (this goes along with doing something good for someone else), roller skating, to be checking out at a retail store and surprisingly get an additional discount, eating chocolate covered almonds, to have good service at a restaurant, to get outside on a cool day and play (by play I mean go for a walk, feed the ducks, literally smell the blooming flowers)...to name a few.

Studies show that happier people are more sociable, likable, healthy, and productive. Adding to mounting evidence that emotions affect the heart, a large study shows that happy adults with heart disease are 20% more likely than equally ill, dour patients to stay alive for 11 more years.

So smile at me when I walk by for goodness sakes! YOU are the key to your happiness. Be compassionate to others, smile at someone today that you don't even know.  Smile wholeheartedly at the grumpiest person you see. Make someone else's day brighter.  I also use the phrase, "Fake it til you make it honey!"   By this I mean if you don't feel like smiling then just start laughing, and laugh at yourself for sounding so silly! Just going through the emotions will brighten your mood.

Giving a little of your time and putting some effort into getting involved in your community will give you rewards. Our emotional existence is built on creating relationships with people. To do this, we must first get involved in the community so that we will get to know more people. This will then lead to, us experiencing a longer and better life (happiness).  

Whatever it is that makes you happy, make a promise to yourself that for at least just one day you will do that...smile at everyone that comes within 10 feet of you, give the homeless guy a ten dollar bill and a smile (and don't grumble under your breath).  Call your local Habitat for Humanity and donate just one Saturday to help build a home.  Try something new in your life! Go for a walk, call a friend you have lost touch with and agree to have lunch with them, skip around your home if you are physically able (make sure if you do this you laugh at yourself while skipping), call someone and tell them you are sorry, allow yourself to have that Chewy Chocolate Chunk cookie (from Great American Cookies..another favorite of mine as well).  These things will reduce your stress level and in the process your happiness and health will be improved.

Make today a new day, a new you, a HAPPY and optimistic you. If you happen to see me at the mall, smile at me!..that makes ME happy too!  What makes you the happiest? I'd like to know..please leave a comment and let me know...I might try it today!

I decided to write this blog after being recently introduced to the hypnotic pair who performs at the retro cozy hot spot called The Red Fox Lounge in Winter Park, FL (by Orlando). When I went to this quaint 1970's time capsule I saw a performance of a lifetime from the Vegas-like duo of Mark Wayne and Lorna Lambry (they are said to be friends with Wayne Newton). Mark and Lorna had all eyes on them and the crowd under their spell. Love was in the air and couples of all ages were letting loose on the dance floor to a variety of music including renditions of "Fly Me to the Moon" and "I'm Just a Gigolo." Mark played the synthesizer and occasionally sang while Lorna's role was to sing and dance while randomly playing the tambourine. The crowd ranged from camouflaged country and trendy college to decked out socialites and 1950ish war veterans...we were somewhere in between :)

The energy in the room was electric and contagious. As I looked around I saw an attractive young couple lapped up and smooching at the bar while simultaneously a classy 70ish couple was swing dancing between tables. Cocktails flowed while tambourines and maracas were being passed around the room for everyone to join in. I will definitely be back for more.  If you live in the area or plan to come to Orlando for business or vacation, make sure you schedule a night to see Mark and Lorna.

A little history behind Mark and Lorna:
-The husband and wife team have been married for over 39 years years and performing at The Red Fox Lounge since 1991. The two-some are rumored to be the inspiration for the Saturday Night Live skit about a lounge act, the Culp's, which were played by Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer. Paula Pell, an SNL writer and former Orlando resident has been said to have frequently seen Mark and Lorna's act while she was living in the Orlando area.

The Red Fox Lounge is located inside the Best Western Mt. Vernon Hotel which is across from Houston's on    17-92 in Winter Park, FL

* No cover, casual dress is ok, food, fun, dance and full bar.

Mark Wayne and Lorna Lambey
Monday-Saturday 8:30 p.m. till 12:30 a.m.
The Red Fox Lounge
Best Western Mt. Vernon Inn
110 South Orlando Avenue
Winter Park, FL 32789
407.647.1166

The National Association of Realtors is taking action to improve our economy.  All Realtors have been reminded to send letters to our Congressperson and Senators.  This is your chance to make a difference as well.  Here is the info I received and a sample letter below if you would like to send a letter also...you do not have to be a Realtor. .just change "Realtor" to "Concerned Citizen Joe (or Jane)"  or something like that. 

Support NAR's Four-Point Housing Stimulus Plan

Congress may soon consider a new economic stimulus bill. Housing has always lifted our economy out of past economic downturns so it is imperative that Congress focus on housing in the next stimulus package. 

We need ALL members to support NAR's efforts to have the NAR Four-Point Housing Stimulus Plan included in any future stimulus bill.

Contact Congress today and ask them to include  NAR's Four-Points in the next stimulus package. 

Reviving the real estate market must be the focus of any future stimulus bill

Dear ( Insert the name of your Congressperson and Senators here)

As a (constituent and a Realtor), I ask that Congress focus any future stimulus package on reinvigorating housing markets. The current crisis is the result of problems in the nation's housing markets. Efforts to boost the economy must calm jittery real estate markets.

Earlier, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) proposed a 4-Point Housing Stimulus Plan that should be part of any new stimulus package. NAR's plan would:

*Make the $7500 first-time homebuyer tax credit available to all buyers and eliminate repayment requirements. The credit's limited availability and repayment requirement severely limit the credit's use and effectiveness.

*Make the 2008 FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits permanent. New rules for 2009 will reduce them. Now is not the time to limit mortgage affordability.

*Get the Treasury relief program back on track and target more funds to mortgage relief. Create a federal mortgage interest buy-down program to make below-market rates available and stabilize home prices.

*Permanently bar banks from engaging in real estate brokerage and management. The banks have proven they have enough to do to simply manage the loan process. Banks should not manage home sales and purchases.

Housing has always lifted our economy out of past economic downturns. It's imperative now to foster a housing recovery, so that the economy can recover. Thank you for your hard work.

Sincerely,

Sheila Barbee

Click on the"Take Action" button above to view more about this and automatically email the message above to your Congressperson and Senators.  If you don't see the "Take Action" button then copy and paste this link: http://takeaction.realtoractioncenter.com/campaign/4pointplan/w6nuwwd407kxwm85?

 If you are a Realtor and want to change the message...or if you are not a Realtor you can still send the message. All you have to do is a Google search to find out WHO your Congressperson and Senators are and their email addresses...or just click on the buttons below:

	Visit your Congressperson's website. Find your House Rep here. Find your Senator here.