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Active Rain TWO Weeks in Review 11/16/2008 - 11/30/2008

Active Rain Week-in-Review - Two Weeks, 11-16-2008 to 11-30-2008

WHEW - I am GLAD Sunday is here!!

I've done the Week-in-Review several times in the past, and no matter how many members we've had each time I've done one, it's always been A LOT of reading. But wow, now with over 122,000 members, there is SO MUCH reading to do to put together one of these Week-in-Review posts.

And to do a TWO week review??? Holy cow, there were some days/nights when I am certain my eyes were crossing on me and wanting to close and say ENOUGH!!

So, with all that, here are my picks for the last 2 weeks in review:

"Gentle Tips and Reminders" - for our professional lives as well as our personal lives:

Integrity is Not A Bargaining Chip - by Rebecca Levinson - this is a great not-so-gentle reminder to keep ourselves grounded and not lose what we stand for no matter how badly a sale is needed.
Managing Meltdowns - by Kelle Sparta - helping others and helping ourselves with stress-loads and managing the meltdowns that may come along with all that stress.
It's Report Card Time - by Ann Marie Malfi - what a great post to make us think about the service we provide our clients - what grade would they give you?
Don't Be Afraid to Make An Offer....Please Insult Me! - by Margaret Rome - this is a MUST read reminder for agents who think they're doing their sellers a favor by telling buyer's agents not to bother with offers they think are low....

"Planning and Preparing" - great tips for helping us have a better year ahead:

Tina Merritt Has A Plan - Do You? Here Are Some Steps to Put "your" Plan into Action - by Anne Marie Malfi - this is a very well-laid out post for creating a great business plan that can't help but work, if you work it.
Game On - by Ralph Odierna - a sure-fire way to plan and succeed in the coming year.
Being in the Right Place at the Right Time - by Cedric Reynolds - a short sweet post about preparation and opportunities paying off, people make their own luck!

"Social Networking" - great advice for those thinking of taking the plunge:

Battling Skepticism and Fear - Take a Deep Breath and PUSH THAT BUTTON - by Valerie Spaulding - what a great post for those a little leery of taking the plunge in any of the social networks, in particular Facebook. This post is funny and encouraging - check it out.
Twitter Tips from ProBlogger - by John Novak - John's post has some great links it for those not sure about whether to participate in Twitter or not. His posts are full of great instructional info on a variety of social networking and technology tools - check out his other posts while reading this one.
What if Twitter Disappeared? Top 40 Alternatives - by Ray Castellum - so many more social networks in this post than one probably knew existed!

My Special Little Bear Dressed in Leather and Denim

"A Little Humor Can Do Us All Good!" - we all need laughter in our lives and these posts provide just that:

A Contest So Easy A Consumer Could Win - by Margaret Woda - you just can't help but smile and laugh at some of these pictures and their captions! Go on, check out this post - I promise you'll smile!
When Your Toaster Starts Ringing, You Know You Are In Trouble - by Carolyn Tann-Starr - you just won't believe this story! Laughing still over this one - poor little 'minion'!
The Home Sellers Twelve Days of Christmas - by Kristen Wahl - you HAVE to go read this, VERY creative and clever 12 days of Christmas in real estate!
A Naked Hunchback Man Tries to Show Us His Property - by Marty Remo - you just have to go read this one for yourself, you won't believe it!

"Inspirational With Words and/or Pictures" - inspiration of all types come from so many sources:

Monday Morning Gifts: What Do Eagles and Seagulls Have To Do With You? - by Kathy McGraw - just so you know, Kathy so kindly mentioned me in this post, but that's NOT the reason I chose this for the week-in-review. Her message in this post is awesome and the pictures, well, you have to check these out for yourself to see their beauty. Stunning!
Some Unpopular Things to be Thankful For - by Ron Brown - don't let the title fool you on this one. This post is a terrific reminder that some of the very things we complain about are things we really should be most thankful for.
You Are Never Too Old to Play in the Rain Or To Be a REALTOR - by Kate Elim - I loved this post because neither real estate nor AR are only for the 'younger' generations, not at all as Kate shows us here!
The Mystery and Beauty of the Waikiki Aquarium - by Sally Cheeseman - more fabulous eye-candy in Sally's gorgeous marine life pictures. I always just drool over Sally's incredible pictures of life in Hawaii!

Peppers and Peas

Despite the amount of time it took to do this two week review, I thoroughly enjoyed all the reading I did. I found some great reading material from a lot members I had not have the privilege to have read before, and added some new writers to my subscribed-to reading because of it.

Thank you all for the all the posts I read, and special thanks to those whom I've highlighted here for the posts that inspired me to include them in this Week-in-Review. I hope you enjoy them as much as I didI

RE/MAX New Hampshire


Ann Cummings, New Hampshire REALTOR
RE/MAX Coast to Coast
Portsmouth NH
  ann@anncummings.com
  1-888-349-5678 x 3839
Servicing the Coastal Areas of NH & Southern Maine

Posted by Portsmouth NH Homes Condos - Ann Cummings New Hampshire REALTOR® on 11/30/2008 04:50 PM

Comments (56)

Week in Review in the ActiveRain Channel

active rain week in review

Post is included in group: It's all about them (ThemThem)
Post is included in group: POSITIVE ATTITUDE for the Weary Soul
Post is included in group: The Art Of Marketing You
Post is included in group: The Ninety-ninth Percentile
Post is included in group: WEEK IN REVIEW

56 Comments on Active Rain TWO Weeks in Review 11/16/2008 - 11/30/2008

NOV

2008

Thanks Ann...and if I didn't already say it before...Happy Thanksgiving and happy Holidays...I appreciate you doing this at this time of year.

I tried to get all the links to open up in new windows, but for some reason, AR is acting kinda funny about that today. I've gone in 3 times now to try to set them up that way, and it just isn't working properly. Sorry for the inconvenience of having to use the 'back' button on this post. I'll keep trying....

Ann

Hi Neal - You're welcome, and thank you! ;-)

Ann

Ann - TWO WEEKS??!! You need a much deserved rest! I am just going to HAVE to go read the humor ones. I laughed out loud just reading the titles. You did an awesome job with this, Ann!

On another note....is your scarecrow Jay & George as siamese twins??? LOL

Hey Linda - You REALLY should go read the humor ones, all of them actually, but those humor ones are something else!

By the way, while I was spinning my wheels this afternoon working on this, I saw a sneaky little email come in with a 'tag' in it........ oh no! ;-)

Ann

thanks for sharing, not all of the links are working but I will revisit them latter...

2 weeks worth???? Are you seeing double? I've missed a few of these so I am glad to see the week in review back! Great job Ann..and there is some real funny stuff here! :)

Oh man...That scare crow is just too funny! Where did you find it?? BTW Great review Ann!

Is anyone else having trouble with the links to the posts I included in this review?

Caron's Gateway - I just clicked on each one of them, and they all went right to the correct posts. I tried it both in IE and in Firefox, and they worked for me.

I still can't get them to open up in a new window instead of this window, even though that's how I set each of them up.

If others are having trouble with the links, please let me know!

Ann

Holy Crap!!! I can't even imagine doing a two week in review. That's a whole bunch of readin' and reviewin'.

Good job Ann.

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!!!

Hey Linda - I thought that crossed-over scarecrow was pretty funny! It shows how cross-eyed I got in that I was seeing a Red Sox and a Yankee in the same picture! And yep, it could be George and Jay all in one - imagine that!?!?!? ;-)

Hi Midori - yep, TWO weeks! I found a lot of new people to read that I'd never read before, and some really funny stuff, too!

Hey Monika - that scarecrow was up in an apple orchard farm store somewhere around Manchester. I went there with my sister's family when my dad was up visiting. I thought it was funny, and made me think of several people when I saw it - Bear (hard-core Yankees fan), George (ditto), Jay (hard-core Red Sox fan), my dad (Yankees fan). Thought it funny to use in this post because I was seeing double, among other things, with all that reading!

Ann

Hey Bryant - oh yeah baby, a whole lotta readin' for sure!! I fell asleep with my computer in my lap a few times, I'll admit it.... ;-)

My Thanksgiving was quiet and low-key, just as I needed it to be this year. Hope yours was enjoyable with TLW and family.

Ann

Hi Ann, Thanks for the obvious time and effort this took. We really do appreciate it !

Hi Ann! Thank you for posting my blog here too! WOw - I can imagine it takes awhile to put all that together! Great job though - I like it! I am from Portsmouth NH, I grew up on Suzanne Dr in Maple Haven... Seems like yesterday! I will be watching for your blogs as there are times I wonder what's going on in the neighborhood!

thanks for the links, appreciate it!

Ann: Thanks so much for mentioning the aquarium! I loved the beauty I saw there. I think this two week in review is great! These take so much time and effort to do and I appreciate your post. I have to go read some I missed ....thanks.

Ann, great job with the Review. Glad it was you and not me, at the speed that I read I would still be on the first day of blogs ......... LOL

Ann, thanks so much for including my post in this week's "Week-in-Review." I am truly honored. Hope others enjoy all of the posts chosen for this week. We have some phenomenal bloggers in AR.

Ced

Hi Bill - you're welcome, and make sure to check out some of the posts in this review - there's some great reading in those links!

Hi Valerie - how cool to 'meet' someone from here! I've sold a number of homes in Maple Haven over the years. Many of my posts are more localism oriented, so you can keep up with the area through those! Do you ever get back up here? How did you end up clear on the other side of the country?

Hi Dustin - you're very welcome, and I hope you get the chance to check out those highlighted posts!

Thanks for reading and commenting!
Ann

Hey George - there was a lot of reading over that 2 week period - yikes, too much! Did you notice my scarecrow?????

Hi Cedric - I appreciated your post and thought it had a great message in there that I hope others will find when they read your post. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Thanks for the comments!
Ann

Hi Ann, what a lot of work that must have been! I have bookmarked this because the posts you chose look very interesting and I have not read then yet.

Ann ............ LOL

No I had missed that, only you only you ............ LOL

Hi Karen - it was a lot of work, but I found some great reading material and a lot of members I'd not had the pleasure of reading before. That part was really great!

Georgie Honey - ;-) crazy mixed up... did you put your cursor over him??

Ann

I can't imagine doing a regular week in review, so for you tackle 2 weeks worth is amazing, Ann! Thanks for the recommended list - I haven't been here much in the last couple of weeks, so it's good to have a place to start catching up from.

Ann .. Great collection of post here.. thanks for sharing your collection this week

Ann- I love the round-ups! Thanks so much for summarizing the week for us busy Rainers.

Wow - Ann!

That IS a lot of reading.

I'm not sure how many points you get for doing this - but I don't think it is enough. :)

This week in review is yet another amazing feature that is a product of Active Rain - thank for doing this!

Hey Lisa - so good to see you! Two weeks worth with this many members was tough for sure. I hope you enjoy some of these posts that I enjoyed enough to highlight them here!

Hi Ilyce - you're welcome and I hope you get a chance to do some good reading.

Hi Roland - enjoy them!

Hi Mark - not enough for sure..... ;-) And thanks!

Thanks for reading and commenting,
Ann

FABULOUS! I also know how much work it is, and you rocked it, girlfriend!! GBU~

Ann you did a terrific job. I missed many of these put is now catching up.

Thank you so much for including me with this wonderful group of writers. My little minions are my fave subject. :-) Regards, Carolyn.

DEC

2008

Ann-Well we know where you were for 2 weeks :) I actually did read a few of these, but not all by far. I love your editorials, including the one you have for my Post that you included. Thank you for deeming it worthy for the WIR, and I too found the photos stunning....the ones Thesa Chambers took of that spectacular Eagle. I love it. Anyway, noce job, and thanks for doing this, again!

You put a great list together. There are a few I had not seen yet. Guess where I am going now?

Hi Elizabeth - thanks! And right back at ya!

Hi Jennifer - I always enjoy others' Week in Review because there are always plenty I miss and it's easy to do some great reading all from one place.

Hi Carolyn - I loved your post and it was really fun to read and picture all that happening!

Ann

Hi Kathy - now you know! Thesa's pictures are just beautiful, and your own pictures in your posts are beautiful as well. I've gone back to that post a few times - love it.

Hi Randy - hope you found some great reading!

Ann

Hi Ann, You did a TON of reading - & writing! Thanks for this summary - it's great. I love the humor ones. I'm fairly new to this and hadn't seen some of the humorous posts yet. I'll watch for your summaries. Have a good week!

Good job, Ann. These take time, it has been a year since I did the last one. Lots of reading, saving, and then going back and picking the best of the best. I love this and look forward to it but I know the work involved so thank you for your time and choices. :)

Ann and I decided that because it's getting harder for me to find volunteers every week that since it's around the holidays it would be easier to take the best over the last two weeks instead of weekly so it might stay this way depending on my mood:)

Ann,

Gosh! Thanks for taking the time to read through all the happenings here on the Rain and sharing your picks with us! Loved Sally's pic's from the aquarium too!

Hi Ann:

That was a lot of work....great job! Love your logo!!!

Ann, looks like you did some major reading. Thanks for the heads-up on the best articles.

Ann,

Two weeks worth is a ton of reading for a review. Humbled to be on here. I surely appreciate your hard work and the hours you spent, having done only a 1 week review, I am sure you were plenty bleary eyed by the end.

I love the way you addressed different themes here, it works. With all the reading I did this week, I managed to miss some of these, thank you for highlighting them.

Ann~

WOW!!!! Here's a big "green" thumbs up and much thanks for the energy you put into this post!!! Now I will have to detour from shopping to reading.

What a great review, I have read most of them but will revisit the ones that I hadn't. Thanks for all of the hard work that you must have put into this!

Holy Cow is right, Ann! This is ONE great Weeks in Review! I've got to settle in and do some major reading as I've missed ALOT of these. Thanks for taking the time to select the best of the best and narrowing them down for me!

Debe in Charlotte

Hi Ann - thank you for including my two posts in your two week review - I am truly honored. I must also commend you on your post/review - I think it is so visually pleasing and so well laid out - great job and so worthy of the feature. I always love reading these posts because they help me to catch up on great information I might have missed and again I absolutely loved the way you put this together - my favorite week in review by far! Awesome Job!!! ~Anne Marie

Hi Cindi - a TON of reading for sure! And I found so many great posts and great writers that I'd not encountered before - hope you enjoy these posts as much as I did when I first read them.

Hi Missy - the reviews I've done seem to be oriented around the holidays. The 1st one I did was Christmas 2 years ago, and to think back then I thought that was a lot of reading - wow, hardly any compared to now! You're welcome, and enjoy some great writing.

Hey Neal - two weeks covers a lot of reading, but it may be the way to go so you can get people to still be interested in these reviews. How's your mood? ;-)

Hi Michelle - Sally's pictures are always just magnificent, and those in this review were really great.

Thanks for the comments!
Ann

Hi Toula - thanks, and that logo was made by an AR friend who's not been around much lately. I really like it, too.

Hi Gena - go enjoy these posts!

Hi Rebecca - bleary-eyed is an understatement, I really thought I had ruined by eyes there a few times. Glad you liked the format of this review - I try to make my posts visually appealing. Thanks!

Hey janeAnne - love that green thumbs-up! And thanks for giving that to me!

Hi Jason - you're welcome and I hope you found some great reading in this posts!

Thanks for reading and commenting!
Ann

Hi Debe - you're welcome and I hope you enjoy this reading!

Hi Anne Marie - I really liked both of your posts and was so glad to find them and read them, and I knew right away I was going to include them in this review. Thanks for the feedback on how I did this review - much appreciated!

Ann

Ann,

What a great review! I can't begin to imagine the effort that went into this. Thanks for taking the time.

Best regards,
Mike

Ann Ann, I could make a comment about how much reading that was, or how it took so much time to write this post; it was and you did. However, I want to thank you for helping the AR community (of which I am a humble JR. Member). This is a wicked cool service that helps us get to know others in the community and put the spotlight on some deserving members. THANK YOU!!!!

Oh by the way... The scare crow is obviously a Tampa Bay Rays fan :)

DEC

2008

Hi Mike - thanks and I hope you enjoyed some of these posts I highlighte!

Hey Josh (humble JR member!) - what a great comment, and that's exactly what the reviews are all about. Some of the members I highlighted here were new to me as well, and all of those posts are well worth reading - hope you got to check some of them out.

A Tampa Bay fan, huh? Did you see my little hidden messages?? ;-)

Ann

DEC

2008

Ann, taking on the Week in Review for one week is pretty daunting. Two weeks? Wow! Good choices.

Hi Patricia - yikes was really more like it! I hope you enjoyed some of my selections!

Ann

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