McKinney TX Real Estate

Snow Day Blogging Blues

President Obama needs to call a National State of Emergency in North Texas! Not because of the below freezing temps we're supposed to endure for 4 days straight. Not because of the single digit wind chills we're experiencing and the resulting rolling blackouts. Not because of the massive influx of testosterone headed this way due to Super Bowl XLV. And not because the kids in Dallas-Fort Worth are on their second snow day in a row.

It is because of the spread of an epidemic more severe than the Ebola Virus or the Plague....

dun, dun, DUN......

CABIN FEVER!

Cabin Fever is spreading like WILD FIRE and not even REALTORS are immune to it.

So...what to do when cooped up with no homes to show? No office meetings to be had? No previewing homes?

Blog, of course!!!!!

But let's say you're out of ideas to blog about. The kids screaming "PLAY WITH ME" has sucked your will to live and desire to blog right out of you. Well, scientists (me [I'm not a real scientist, but play one on my blog]) have come up with a cure for your blogging ailment!

Here's the Cure: 26+ ideas to blog about, from A - Z!

A - Airports, Appraisals or Athletic Centers
B- Baseball teams, Bounce Houses or Bank of America
C- Churches or Condos
D- Doublewides and Dance Studios
E- Easter Egg Hunts or Escrows
F- FSBO's or Foreclosures
G- Golf Course Lots or Gated Communities
H- HOA's or Homeless Shelters
I- Ice Cream Parlors and iPads
J- Jails, Jungle Gyms or Jamba Juice
K-Killer Bees or Kwanzaa
L- Leases or Luxury Homes
M- Movie Theaters or Market Values
N- Neighborhoods or Niches
O- Offers or Obama
P- Pizzarias or Parks
Q- Quarts of Paint, Quaint date spots
R- Restaurants or Restoring a Historic Home
S- Schools, Spas or Staging
T-Taxes, Townhouses or termites
U-Updating your Home
V- Vacation property, View Homes or Veterinarians
W- Wineries or Wells Fargo
X- Xmas Lights or XFit Workout Centers
Y- Youth Outreach Programs
Z- Zoos and Zany real estate agents

Directions:
1. Read the entire list.
2. As soon as you come to a topic you HAVE NOT BLOGGED ABOUT, blog about it! (Can't wait to read your blogs on Killer Bees!)
3. Rinse, and repeat.

Have you ever been a victim of a burglary?

Until today - my 34th birthday (whomp, whaaaaa) - I had not.

The worst part? It was my fault.

Someone had stolen my GPS and my son's PSP out of my car. Notice I didn't say they "broke in" to my car. No, that would imply that the car was locked. And it wasn't. Boo!

The kicker is that my car was IN MY DRIVEWAY. IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE. I feel violated. I can't imagine how people must feel to have suffered a home burglary. We're lucky, really. We're out maybe $250 in "stuff".

On the bright side, my son said it probably happened "because I am famous...for being on the cover a magazine". Ah, nine-year olds and their unintended flattery. Yes... how could I forgot my large following of stalkers and groupies!?

Lessons learned:

1. Lock your car - all the time.
2. Take valuables out of your car - all the time.
3. (according to my son) Try not to be so successful because then you'll have people want to take your stuff - ALL the time. :)

As a parent, is there a certain moment in your child's life where you feel like "if they do X then I'll be success"?

• For some it may be that you want your child to graduate from college and get a good job.

• For others maybe it's to be the first in your family to attend college.

• Or maybe it's as simple as your child staying off of drugs and alcohol.

I don't know about you, but for me that moment is when my children accept Christ as their Savior. As a Christian, that moment really defines your life and in effect directs the decisions you'll make the rest of your life.

If you've followed my blog, you know I don't usually write about my family a lot, or religion or politics for that matter. However, given that my nine year old son was baptized at our church service this morning, I can't NOT post about this. I'm too proud.

If I do NOTHING ELSE right in my child's lifetime, then I can rest assured that I've done enough. He's now my Brother in Christ and I couldn't have been more proud. Seeing him make that bold profession of faith before our congregation filled my heart with overwhelming love. At that moment I could breathe a little easier. My job as his mother is not over by ANY means, but at least  now I can rest in the comfort of John 3:16:

"For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

I smiled a lot today.

I hope you all had a great Sunday as well...and will have a BLESSED week!

Your mom always told you, "If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all."

Or maybe that was Bambi...or both?

Well, whoever it was, I'm following that advice! It's not always easy for me. Real estate in it's very nature is a complex and stressful animal. If you've ever been involved in a real estate transaction or come within 10 feet of one, you can often times feel the tension radiating from it.

I know some really like to get out their frustrations in the form of a long, graphic, verbal rant or blog post. Others might vent to their spouse, or worse - their kids.

However, I feel that I usually handle the stress better than most. I often turn to running or yoga to get out my frustration or stress. I run, grumble, whine and moan...and I eventually feel better.

However, tonight I will follow through on my promise that I made to myself to be a "BETTER me" in 2011.

I will praise God even in the midst of a storm... and for me, that's tough to do! Yeah, I can blow off steam and not beat my kids when I'm stressed, but I never GIVE THANKS for going through the tough times. It's THOSE times, after all, that help us GROW!

I know I'll be a better person for it.

What about you? How do you deal when life deals you lemons? I'd encourage you to try and find the "lemonade"! Or, if not, at least don't go pelting people with lemons until you feel better.

Living in the 'burbs of Dallas just keeps getting better!

Growing up in Carrollton, TX I remember having to drive to downtown Dallas or Arlington, TX for major entertainment. After I married and started a family in McKinney, TX (northeast of Carrollton) I was absolutely fine knowing that my commute to things like the concerts & pro sports games at the American Airlines Center, Six Flags in Arlington or the new "Jerry World" (aka Cowboys Stadium) would require me to drive 30-45 minutes or more. After all, that's the trade off you make when you choose the suburbs over the city, right?

Well, I couldn't be more wrong! And with all the entertainment that keeps coming to the Collin County area in the last 5-7 years, I just laugh when my "city" friends claim that because I live in the "sticks" or "Southern Oklahoma", that there's nothing going on other than a nice family dinner at Applebee's or a "date" at a Home Depot.

Case in point:

Last night my nine year old, Mason, and I went to a professional hockey game for a little "mom & son" date night. It took us a total of 13 minutes to get to The Allen Event Center - home to the Allen Americans - where we parked for FREE. Tickets are CHEAP - our tickets were $9 each. EACH! The brand spanking new arena features hockey seating for 6,135 fans. It's conveniently located on the southeast corner of Highway 75 and Stacy Road inside The Village of Allen. Upon its completion in late 2009, the venue totals 188,000 square feet, 29 suites and two ice rinks.

Prior to last year if we wanted to see a pro hockey game, we would have had to drive to Dallas to see the Stars play, pay ~$20 to park, go the game where we would have paid a minimum of $30 per ticket and commute time would have been an hour and a half. Boo.

A Little About the Allen Americans

The Allen Americans are part of the CHL (Central Hockey League). The CHL is in its 19th season with 18 member teams playing across 12 states.  This season marks a historic one for the league after the CHL and the International Hockey League (IHL), boasting 59 years of professional hockey, joined forces on June 1, 2010.

According to the CHL website: the CHL and IHL combined to draw close to three million fans during the 2009-10 season.  Arguably the most significant change over the past 19 years came in May of 2001, as the Central and Western Professional Hockey Leagues joined forces that combined the top markets within both organizations under the CHL banner. The merger has been highly successful, with the CHL reaching several significant attendance marks in each season since. In the 2009-2010 campaign, close to two million people walked through the gates at games in the CHL.
 
Check it Out!

We had JUST AS MUCH FUN, if not MORE than if we had driven south to Dallas. There were fun intermissions, cheerleaders (called the Ice Angels), LOTS of good food to choose from, up close interaction with the players, blimps flying around dropping prizes, a crazy Elvis impersonator, T-Shirt cannon guys, "chuck a puck" game and human ice bowling. Having a really talented team that KILLED our opponents from Laredo didn't hurt either (we won 7-3)!

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." - Michael Jordan 

As we move into the 2nd week of January, it's sometimes easy to lose the momentum and excitement from our New Years resolutions. Gym membership attendance fades, the warm feeling of the Holidays is packed away in boxes in our attics and the reality of the day to day life we lead prior to Thanksgiving 2010 sets in.

In 2011 we vowed that this year would be different. We set goals. We hit them hard - at least for the first 10 days of the month. If you've already felt your commitment wane a bit, I want to say to you: THAT'S NORMAL! Not a problem!

The problems set in when you don't do anything about it! You can't bat 1,000 ALL the time.

I love the above quote by Michael Jordan. A friend posted it on Facebook today and I thought it was the PERFECT sentiment for this kind of post.

We've all heard the quote that "insanity is doing the same things over and over but expecting different results". So this year you need to BE the change you want to see happen.

• Try new things. It's OK if you fail, but get back on the bike and keep trying.

• Take risks: "I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it".  ~Pablo Picasso

• Surround yourself with the people who inspire you and who are at the level you want to be at! Loreena Yeo and Greg Nino established Facebook groups last week so that we can do exactly that.
  • The Stay the Course Facebook Group, and
  • The Real Estate Cave

Just don't let the fear of failure paralyze you. Keep "staying the course".

It's the first Friday of 2011! How did your first week go?

Mine was the most action-packed, optimistic, productive week of the year. *wink, wink*

No, but seriously...it was the BEST first week EVER. Let's just say, I'm exhausted!

But I can't sign off this week without two major announcements for my blog readers who are Football fans:

1. 

Good luck to my Texas Aggies tonight at the 2011 Cotton Bowl Classic!

BTHO LSU! WHOOP!

As a proud member of the class of 1999, I never forget to root for my team through thick and thin. Given the fact that they had a FAR better record than our rivals down at UT in Austin, I'm just glad we are AT a bowl this year...although I'd really love to see them win, too. Game starts in about two hours...sending lots of luck over to "Jerry World" in Arlington right now! Gig 'em!

2.

Congratulation to the new head coach of our Dallas Cowboys:

Jason Garrett!

I've never been a HUGE Cowboys fan. The most excited I got was back in 1993 and 1995 when they won those Superbowls. I was in high school at the time and Cowboys fever was in fulll effect! I miss the electricity that was felt when our 'Boys were doing well. Perhaps Garrett can bring that feeling back for next year's season. We'll see!