Perdido Key, Navigate, Blue Sushi = Busy Summer

It has been a long time since I have updated. Since Facebook has become all the rage I pretty much update there all the time.

The family went to the beach in Perdido Key a couple of weeks ago. We were joined by our friends, the Nealys. We had a great time of laying out, eating, playing putt putt, riding go karts, and riding around in the boat. Going out in the boat was great because we got to see many dolphins up close and personal. We also anchored at a little island and got out and looked for shells, threw the football, and Logan found lots of hermit crabs.

Nick is involved this summer with our church's middle school intern program called Navigate. He's having a great time going to classes 3 days a week, serving in outreaches, and playing. Logan goes to Blue Sushi camp one day a week. Blue Sushi is an intern group as well, but geared for younger kids. He went to Vault Kid's Camp last weekend and had a blast.

Just an update on Mom. She is on a pretty serious chemo treatment and it has been making her so sick. The doctors feel very optimistic that the chemo is working, however, because she has been so sick she was admitted into the hospital yesterday because of dehydration. She will be there until Thursday. She will receive one more treatment and then will have another scan done to see about the cells that are remaining. We are praying and believing that they are dying out. We are going to Georgia to visit them in July.

Well, I have lots to do today so I better close out for the day. By the way, if you or anyone you know is looking to buy or sell real estate please let me know. I'd love to help out!

Easter and More

Well, we went to Georgia for Easter to visit my parents. We enjoyed being with them and the time seemed to fly. We were pretty busy during our visit. We arrived late Thursday night and pretty much went straight to bed. Friday, Lance had to do a little work from the house and Nick and I had to go shopping for Easter clothes. The boys were surprised by their Nana and Papa with a Wii to play with while we are there. No, it didn't come home with us (we have enough game systems here), but it stays at their house so they will have it to play every time we visit them. Everyone, including Mom and Dad, spent a lot of time playing that.

We went to Chili's for lunch on Friday to celebrate Mom and Logan's birthday. Friday night we stayed in because the weather was terrible. There were tornado warnings and the county's warning siren was even activated. We had to go downstairs to the basement and everything.

On Saturday, we went across town to visit with my grandmother for a bit. We also had lunch at an incredible Puerto Rican restaurant. I loved it! That evening, the guys went to an Atlanta Braves game. They had a great time! While they were doing that, my mom and I had a girl's night out and went shopping and went to dinner and shared baby back ribs.

Easter morning was really nice in that we went to Mom and Dad's church. It went well, service was good, and Grandmother ended up coming. After church we went back to the house, took some pictures, and packed up the car to leave. The trip home wasn't too bad, but about halfway it started raining and we drove in rain the rest of the way home. We got home around 10:00 p.m.

Servolution

Since our church, Healing Place Church, and hundreds of other churches around the world is involved in Servolution right now I thought I would get the family involved. For those that don't know, Servolution is a 7-Day event of serving our community in some way and for this event to become a lifestyle of being a servant just as Christ said we should be.

So, I thought that it would be nice to serve our neighborhood. Since our trash runs on Monday, when the boys got home from school that afternoon we put on our Serve shirts, got in the car, and I drove them around the neighborhood. What they did was they picked up the empty trashcans from the ends of driveways and pulled them up to the garage of the people's homes. There were a couple of people that were outside when the boys got out at their house so we just told them we wanted to pick up their trashcans for them.

The boys enjoyed doing it so hopefully it will be an experience that they won't forget. I want them to want to help others. Hopefully this is a start.

Gym Member

I am officially a member of Anytime Fitness! I finished the 4 week boot camp and I lost 1.5% body fat. I couldn't decide if I wanted to do the boot camp again or join a health club. Well, the health club won out. I really enjoyed the boot camp, but it was smarter financially to join the club. I am actually excited about it. I'm trying to get a couple of friends to join with me (ahem: Cindy, DeLin, and Kathy). Come on! You know you want to!

New Listing in Walker

I have just listed a 3 bedroom/2 bath home in Walker, LA. This home is 1,551 square feet living area and has an open, split floor plan. The sellers are offering up to $3,000 toward buyer's closing costs for flooring or paint allowance. You can visit the property website to obtain more information about this listing at http://www.28040foxfire.com/. If you or anyone you know would be interested in this or any other home please contact me at 22-284-8264.

"Reality" TV

You know, it's really sad that reality tv isn't really reality anymore. I have been reading spoilers about the finale of The Bachelor, but I was hoping that none of it was true. I thought it was very wrong what happened last night on The Bachelor: ATFR 1. It just makes you wonder how many of those other reality shows are real. So, now that sitcoms have been replaced with "reality" shows and we now know that "reality" shows aren't real, what is left to watch? I guess I'll just stick to Fox News.

Now, on to reality. For real. Fitness Boot Camp was tough on Monday. It was about 40 degrees out there, but by the time we had finished warm-ups I had already taken off my jacket. We worked our tummies quite a bit and I'm feeling it today. I certainly need it! We were told that tomorrow we will be working our arms alot. Need that, too! I will probably do boot camp again when she has the next one.

Long Time No Blog

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything. There really hasn't been that much to post.

However, I decided to just update what has been going on.

First of all, I have to make this quick because I'm about to walk out the door to go to Day 5 of Fitness Boot Camp. After Day 1 I really didn't think I would go back. It was rough! I was so sore the next day! However, after the second time I realized it wasn't going to be as bad as the first day. Don't get me wrong! It's rough! However, Daurie is making it more enjoyable. I actually find myself looking forward to it. Hopefully I will see results at the end of the 4 weeks.

I'm anxiously awaiting the finale of The Bachelor. According to all of the spoilers it's going to be pretty interesting. If you want to know what is going to happen check out this website: www.realitysteve.com.

We finally got the inside of the house painted. I will post pics later of what it looks like. The color was a gold, but now it's brown, but not yucky brown. The color is called Cardboard, so I can literally say that I now live in a cardboard box. Haha.

Well, that's about it for now. I've gotta go get my butt kicked at boot camp.

I've Decided on My Goals for the Year

You know, every year I say, "I'm going to work out and I'm going to lose weight." Well, I do pretty good till about, um, the end of January. I would say that every year I am pretty much setting myself up for failure. What exactly makes up what is required to exercise and lose weight? I would say that two main ingredients are self-discipline and determination.

Therefore, this year I have decided that I am going to be more disciplined and more organized this year. Discipline encompasses so many areas. A couple areas that I am going to work on are my Bible reading and spending. I also want to be more organized in my record keeping. I've already bought the file organizers to get started.

Yes, I will make the attempt to lose weight and exercise. I will make the attempt to make wiser choices when it comes to eating. Am I setting that as a New Year's Resolution? No, I'm going to just try and make the change, regardless of what time of year it is. Good luck with your goals, as well.

Nick's First Band Concert

Last night Nick participated in his first band concert. For those who don't know, he plays the tuba in his 6th grade band at school. Last night was their Christmas concert and they did really well. I wish I knew how to upload the videos from my new video camera, but until I learn, pictures will have to do. So, here are just a few of them because my camera doesn't take good pictures and most of them were blurry.

This is the first time I have seen Nick dressed up this much in a long time. He is so handsome!

Nick is supposed to be warming up.

You can see Haley-Bop in the foreground and Nick behind her. This was after the concert.

My buddy Regina and I made the kids hold their instruments so that we could take these.

Snowy December 2008

It all started around 5:00 this morning. I could hear Lance getting dressed and opening the front door. Then I heard Nick already awake. Then, I just knew what was happening. We were witnessing the beginning of an early Christmas gift! We kept telling Nick that it wasn't going to stick, the ground was cold enough, it wasn't going to keep it up long enough. Before we knew it, we could see the snow accumulating little by little in the flowerbeds and on the leaves. By 6:30 a.m. we had real ground cover! It was so beautiful! I felt like I was in the middle of a Christmas card! We took lots of pictures and videos. I would upload some of the video, but I haven't figured out how to do it yet. Anyway, Lance even stayed home from work this morning for a while because the streets were just too scary. Everytime we walked out the door we could hear sirens.

After playing in the snow for a while we decided to take a break and go eat breakfast at Franks. It was a great morning for all! It definitely got me more in the Christmas spirit. I even turned on the Christmas music. Check out some of the pictures:

This was when it first started accumulating on the ground and plants.

The snow was pouring and really sticking.

Our neighborhood looked so pretty.

Our house looked pretty as well.

Logan tried a snowball. Mmmm, yummo!

Nick and Logan hated stopping to take a picture, but they humored me.

Here are my angels making snow angels...

We attempted a snowman. Our hands were so frozen that we didn't take the time to dress him.

Nick decided he wanted to make another snowman, so this one we dressed up a little.

Happy Birthday, Lance!

Today is the birthday of the most wonderful husband and greatest dad! Lance is 39 today. We will probably have lunch somewhere and then we will go to dinner with the boys and have presents and cards.

Buying and Selling in Today's Market

Due to the current economy people are very unsure whether or not to buy or sell real estate. The thing is, it is a buyer's market right now. If you are currently renting or leasing and you are about to come up on the end of that contract you may want to consider buying. The market is overloaded with homes and because of that sellers are reducing prices to try and get their homes sold. Sometimes you will find that a house note is even lower than a rental note. There are so many financing programs out there to help buyers. (Now, here goes a shameless plug) My husband, Lance, is a mortgage lender and he could help in that financing process. Also, many people don't realize it, but a buyer doesn't pay a real estate agent to help them find a house. The agent is paid by the seller. So, my service would be free to you, the buyer.

As far as selling your home, that is a little tricky right now. You want to find an agent that will do more than just stick a sign in your front yard. Your choice of real estate agent is important because you will need to trust their advice. Pricing your home correctly is crucial! The value of your home is not determined by how much you owe on it or how much you think it's worth. A good agent will do research on what other homes in your area have sold for (not what they are currently listed for) and price your home based on that. A good agent will also market your home in many different ways. For instance, I provide my sellers with a website for their home where people can look at their home on the internet. I also hold open houses, put their home in real estate magazines, just to name a few. Your agent needs to provide as much exposure for your home as possible.

Hopefully, our economy will be on an upswing now that the election is over and the housing market can begin to rebound. With that said, don't be afraid to buy or sell. (Here's another shameless plug.) If you are at that point, give me a call and I'd love to help you out. If someone you know is at that point, please give them my name and number or just let me know and I'd be glad to call them myself.

I've Made the Switch

Well, it's official. I have made the change from Keller Williams to Tiger Town Realty. I just feel that this is a good move for me right now for many reasons. You know, the rest of the country is slow right now as far as real estate is concerned. But, I counted this morning how many deals I've had go to closing since I started a year ago and the count was 12. That's more than I could have ever hoped for. I know that this is where I'm supposed to be right now. With that said...I could always use more business so if you or anyone you know needs an agent to help them find or sell a house please put them in contact with me! I know, I know...shameless plug, but hey, whatever works! Oh yeah, and here's my new sign.

What's Your Opinion?

Okay, I'm making a company change in Real Estate. I've been offered a great package at Tiger Town Realty that I just can't pass up. With that being said, I have to order new signs. I can't decide which one I like better; the one with the picture or the one without. I might not mind the one with the picture if it were smaller and the black area was larger. What do you think? Seriously, give me your opinion in my comment section because I have to order them by tomorrow preferably. Please be aware that the top portion of both signs are white so that's why it looks like my name and number are just floating above the black portion.

On this one, I would like for my picture to be smaller, the black portion be larger and the words "For Sale" be larger.

On this one, I would like for my number to be a little smaller so that the black portion can be larger with the words "For Sale" being larger.

Busy Weekend

It was definitely a busy weekend! It started with me and my buds Lana and Jen going to Kona Grill for some pizza and to see The Women. The movie wasn't that good so I felt bad because I chose it. Saturday was busy with working on the patio, LSU football and Logan's first time representing Cub Scouts by selling popcorn at the Walmart in P'ville. Today was church, lunch, and then working some more on the patio. We now have the concrete around the edges to keep the brick in place. So, the patio itself is done, we just now have to fix the yard. That could take a while. The boys had friends over today and unfortunately, the upstairs looked like a tornado had come through. Bed sheets and covers off the bed, toys strewn EVERYWHERE, etc. N and L were mad at us because we made them clean it up. Hopefully next time they won't let it get to that point. Anyway, kiddos are in bed and I'm ready to settle in with a book. Nite all!

Jamie Foster actually came by so she kindly purchased some popcorn from Logan.

Lance's boss gave us his tickets on the 30 yd. line so we gave ours to some friends. Nice view!

Another Listing Website

I have just relisted this house in my neighborhood in Prairieville. It's a great house and it's priced to sell. If you or anyone you know is interested in being my neighbor let me know! The property has a website you can visit. It's www.38113JeffersonCrossing.com. Pass this info along to your friends as well!

Property Listing Website

Please take a few minutes and check out the website for my listing in Broadmoor subdivision. The web address is www.445NParkview.com. If you or anyone you know is looking to move and you think they would be interested, please let them know about this listing. Thanks!

New Discovery

Well, after the big rain on Sunday we have noticed that we some pretty good leaks. We have a tarp on the dormar, but evidently it wasn't enough to keep out the rain. Here are some photos.

It's kind of hard to tell how the roof is missing, but you can see that some of the shingles are missing.

This is upstairs in the playroom on the wall by where the roof is messed up.

It has evidently leaked down into the garage. Not good.

Here is more of the garage ceiling. You probably can't tell, but water has collected in the light fixture. That can't be safe, right?

More Serving

I forgot to blog about my most recent serving day at HPC. It was kind of a crazy weekend. They cancelled school on Friday (cause it was so windy?) and we really didn't get any rain except during the early morning hours. We weren't able to serve on Friday due to the possible bad weather. However, we served on Thursday with a great group. We met a lady named Ginger and she came down from Seattle just to help with recovery down here after Gustav. She owns a restaurant up there and she does a lot of work with recovery efforts during emergency situations. It was cool talking to her and hearing her stories.

From left to right: Jennifer, me, Ginger from Seattle, and Cindy

Here we are, busy at work.

Serving it Up!

The youngins went back to school today so I decided it was high time I helped serve. I went to the Highland campus around 9:00 a.m. and was pretty much assigned to helping put together lunch plates for delivery. I don't know that I've really ever volunteered to serve in a situation like we are in right now so I didn't really know what to expect. Anyone that knows me, knows that I'm not one to hang out outside and be all hot and sweaty. However, once we got started I found that I was actually enjoying myself. We had a great system going. I was the official "black-eyed peas and rice scooper". Goodness, how many lunch plates did we even put together? Hundreds! Not exactly sure how many. Our HPC Cooking for Christ team is great to work with!

After we were finished with the lunches some of us still had some time left before we had to leave to Mrs. Ann Morrow gave us another assignment: taking inventory of an 18-wheeler truck that had brought some supplies. On the way to the truck I realized just how hot it was outside and wished the 18-wheeler we would be in had a generator and a/c unit. Imagine my excitement when we walked up to the truck only to realize it was a refrigerated truck carrying fruits and vegetables! The Lord works in mysterious ways!

It really felt good to help out today, so I am hoping to go back tomorrow and do it all again!

Beef Stroganoff and Black-Eyed Peas served up by me, Cindy, DeLin, and Jennifer


Taking a lunch break to enjoy the great meal cooked up by Cooking for Christ.

This was the refrigerated truck that we worked in to take inventory. Lots of fruits and veggies!