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Real Estate Update
- Buyers & Seller's Corner
- Home Improvement
- Trivia Challenge
- Health & Fitness
- Upcoming Movie Releases
- Recipe of the Month
- Cool/Free/Fun/Trendy |
January
2008
1 --
New Year's Day
17 -- Ben Franklin Day
21 -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
22 -- Full Moon Day
30 -- Jazz Day
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An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in.
A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.
-- Bill Vaughan
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Home
Sales Expected to Trend Up in 2008
According to
the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors®,
existing-home sales are projected to trend up in 2008, with pending
home sales showing a slight near-term rise.
“The unusual
mortgage disruptions that peaked in August were clearly seen in
lower home sales that were finalized in September and October, so
the market was under-performing,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief
economist, adding the worst part of the credit crunch has already
worked its way through the data. "Now that mortgage conditions
have improved, some postponed activity should turn up in existing-home
sales over the next couple of months, and I expect sales at fairly
stable to slightly higher levels.”
According to
the report, existing-home sales are likely to total 5.67 million
this year, the fifth highest on record, rising to 5.70 million in
2008. Existing-home prices are expected to be down 1.9 percent to
a median of $217,600 for all of 2007, and then rise 0.3 percent
to $218,300 in 2008.
“Home
price growth in the vast affordable midsection of America will help
raise the national median existing-home price slightly in 2008,"
said Yun. "Then expect price appreciation to return to more
normal patterns in 2009, perhaps rising one or two percentage points
above the rate of inflation."
Areas showing
healthy price gains include disparate markets such as Gary-Hammond,
Ind.; Binghamton, N.Y.; Corpus Christi, Texas; and Spokane, Wash.
“We can’t emphasize enough how much local conditions
vary, even within a given area, so it’s important for consumers
to make decisions based on local market conditions,” said
Yun.
The 30-year
fixed-rate mortgage is estimated to rise slowly to the 6.4 percent
range by the end of 2008, with additional cuts in the Fed funds
rate lowering short-term interest rates.
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Eliminate physical clutter. More importantly, eliminate spiritual
clutter.
-- D.H. Mondfleur
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If
You Want It Sold -- Depersonalize
If you want
to get your home sold -- now is not the time to show off your beer
can collection, your masterpiece from Painting 101, your dusty bunny
animal collection or your "they could have been models"
family photos.
As a home seller,
this is often hard to accept, as demonstrated in many homes on the
market. But the truth is, future home buyers would prefer to think
nobody has ever lived in the property. You want to "depersonalize"
your home because you want prospective buyers to view it as their
next home. Seeing your family photos and your bowling trophies only
reminds them it's your home, not theirs.
So, put it away,
pack it up, or throw it away. That goes for most of your family
photos, artwork, trophies, collectibles, souvenirs and other knick
knacks. If you need to, rent a storage unit for a few months and
keep your items there. Whatever you do, don't store the boxes in
the attic, garage, closet or basement. Part of preparing a house
for sale is to remove "clutter," and that is the next
step in preparing your house for sale.
Just remember,
when you want to sell, strip it of all the things that make it a
personalized home, and turn it into a generic product that can be
personalized by someone else.
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Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has
learned in school.
-- Albert Einstein
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Good
Indoor Project: Record Your Valuables
In most parts
of the country, January is a good time to focus on indoor tasks.
One good winter day project is to take photographs of each room
and make a room-by-room inventory of everything of value in your
house. Taking pictures helps aid your memory when filing a claim
and provides proof of what you owned in the event of theft, fire
or other disaster. Follow these five easy steps.
- Take pictures
of every room from multiple angles. Zoom in to shelves with small
items, and open drawers to ensure all your belongings are in the
pictures.
- Photograph
valuable items individually. You may even want to place them against
a white background to capture more detail. Having adequate light
is very important.
- Use the camera's
macro mode for very small valuables like watches, coins and jewelry.
Place another item in the picture if it's important to reference
size (like a ruler or quarter).
- Be sure to
get a picture of the serial number on electronics and software.
This will help prove to your insurance company you owned the item
and assist law enforcement in recovery.
- Burn the
picture files to multiple CD's, DVDs or Flash drives. Keep one
copy in a fire and water proof safe and the other copy in at a
safe, off-site location.
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Curiosity is a willing, a proud, an eager confession of ignorance.
-- S. Leonard Rubinstein
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Trivia
Challenge
Question
1.) How long is the average NFL football player's professional
career?
a.) 3.5 years
b.) 5.5 years
c.) 7.5 years
d.) 9.5 years
Question
2.) Where were attics invented?
a.) Attica
b.) Antarctica
c.) Pennsylvania
d.) Maryland
Question
3.) What color is polar bear fur?
a.) White
b.) Blue
c.) Clear
d.) Pink
Question
4.) What is Whoopie Goldberg's real name?
a.) Kathryn Smith
b.) Caryn Johnson
c.) Whoopie Goldberg
d.) Katie Jones
Question
5.) What behavior is displayed when a bat leaves its cave?
a.) Swoop down then fly up
b.) Turn left
c.) Circle before leaving
d.) Turn right
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My
idea of exercise is
a good brisk sit.
-- Phyllis Diller |
Add
the Warm-up Stretch to Your Routine
If you don't
already, add the warm-up stretch to your exercise routine. Stretching
gets your muscles ready for activity, increases flexibility and
greatly reduces the chance for injury.
Sport-specific
stretching increases coordination and the body’s readiness
to perform the specific motions associated with the activity involved.
- Begin your
warm-up with joint rotations to lubricate them and get them moving
smoothly.
- Follow the
joint rotation with an aerobic warm-up to get the blood flowing
and raise the core body temperature. Jumping rope, jogging and
jumping jacks are good for this (about five minutes).
- Once your
body is sufficiently warmed, start stretching. Begin with your
back and torso, then upper body, then lower body. Many trainers
recommend stretching opposing muscle groups one after the other
for best results.
- Include sport-specific
stretching, as a golfer won't necessarily need the same stretches
as a tennis player. Do some low-intensity motions similar to the
ones you will be making to get your body ready for those movements
(for example, a golf swing).
- Spend about
30 seconds on each stretch -- to mild discomfort -- then stretch
a bit further and hold once the discomfort passes.
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Go for it now. The future is promised to no one.
-- Wayne Dyer |
January
Movie Releases
- Jan.
4
- Jan.
11
- 27 Dresses
- First
Sunday
- In the
Name of the King
- The Pirates
Who Don't Do Anything: A Veggie Tales Movie
- Rogue
- Jan.
18
- Jan.
25
- Be Kind
Rewind
- Meet
the Spartans
- Rambo
- Untraceable
*Wide
releases only. Opening dates subject to change.
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No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.
-- Voltaire |
Personal
Chicken Pot Pie
Cold weather
is here and it's time for "comfort food." A traditional
favorite is chicken pot pie. Serving this dish in individual serving
bowls gives this old favorite a new twist.
Ingredients
- 2 (12.5 oz)
cans chicken breast
- 1 package
frozen veggies
- 1 cup chicken
broth
- 1 can cream
of celery soup
- 2 tbsp.
garlic herb seasoning
- Salt and
pepper to taste
- Frozen puff
pastry
Directions
- Cook all
ingredients (except pastry) covered in a skillet until hot and
blended.
- Fill cups
with mixture and cover each with a square of the puff pastry.
Pinch edges of dough lightly onto bowl edges. Bake on a cookie
sheet for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.
Wine
Pairing
- Chateau du
Basty Beaujolais Villages 2006
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Oh,
for the good old days when people would stop Christmas shopping
when they ran out of money.
-- Author Unknown |
Cool/Free/Fun/Trendy:
del.icio.us
del.icio.us
is a social bookmarking website which allows you to store and share
bookmarks on the web, instead of inside your browser. This has several
advantages.
First, you can
access your bookmarks from any computer with an internet connection.
Second, you can share your bookmarks publicly so other people can
view them for reference, amusement and collaboration. Of course,
you can also keep bookmarks private. Third, you can find other people
on del.icio.us who have interesting bookmarks and add their links
to your collection.
Another benefit
of using del.icio.us is using tags to organize and remember your
bookmarks -- a much more powerful and flexible system than folders.
Keeping links to your favorite articles, blogs, music, reviews,
recipes and news sources has never been easier -- all you need is
a browser and an internet connection.
Learn more at:
http://del.icio.us/.
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Trivia
Answers
#1.
a.) 3.5 years; #2. a.)
Attica; #3 c.)
Clear; #4. b.)
Caryn Johnson; #5. b.)
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