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Stone Soup
Welcome to 2019! This year’s theme is: STONE SOUP We are off and running, in the new year, but I wanted to take a moment to pause and check in with you. This is the time of year when we’re trying to get our collective acts together in order to accomplish those Big, Audacious Goals we’ve been quietly planning. It can be daunting, for sure. Have you summoned the nerve to say your goal out loud, yet? Remember, if it doesn’t scare you, it probably isn’t big enough! When I first started planning goals for 2019, I was afraid mine were too small. I quickly realized that…
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Need 3 Minutes to Yourself?
I can’t promise much, but I can give your kids something to do for about 3 minutes. Use it wisely. May love and joy come to you Paper Christmas cards didn’t go out, this year. I’d like to tell you it’s because I’m very eco-conscious and didn’t want to waste trees. The reality is that I, like many of you, was overwhelmed by the additional requirements brought on by the holiday season and simply didn’t get to them. Nevertheless, I wanted to reach out with a note to express my gratitude for you all; friends, family and clients. If you’re reading this and feel that you don’t fall into one…
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A Step Forward for Safety
Realtor Safety is at the top of my priority list. It can’t not be. Those in the industry are -hopefully- well aware and those on the outside are, sadly, beginning to learn. As excited as the general public seems to be about HGTV, I don’t recall hearing the Property Brothers talk about the buddy system or Joanna Gaines reaching for the next piece of shiplap with a can of pepper spray swinging from her belt loop. A big part of this job, as a Realtor, involves agreeing to go with people I barely know, into places where we are alone and no one will think anything of it. I…
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Oh Look, It’s Christmas Time
Handmade presents are scary because they reveal that you have too much free time. -Douglas Coupland Has the frenzy begun at your house? This time of year is such a mixed bag. It’s the excitement and anticipation of the season, the baking and decorating, the seasonal beverages, caroling and family time. It is also the melancholy of missing those who are too far away to share the time with you, or those who have passed on, the stress of the holiday schedule and the futility of coming up with The Perfect Gift for someone. For those celebrating this season, there is hardly a moment to dwell on the pros…
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Hashtags and Happiness
When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around. -Willie Nelson So, it’s November. It’s undeniably Autumn. The last thing I would want to do is shoot out one of those cliche “Thankful” missives, just because this month happens to include Thanksgiving. That’s exactly what this is, though. Only, not just because it’s seasonally appropriate, but because it is such an important thing to discuss. How often do you pause, with the sole intent of appreciating something? I have to tell you, I ended up on a gratitude journey a few years ago, very much by accident. Had someone tried to tell me, I never would have…
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Hangin’ on to Summer
By all these lovely tokens September days are here, With summer’s best of weather And Autumn’s best of cheer. -Helen Hunt Jackson I’m still hanging on to summer; not quite ready to give it up, just yet. September is definitely one of those odd, transitional months. The temperatures could swing from the middle of July to the beginning of November. The kids are back in school and libraries, restaurants and playgrounds are oddly quiet, after the chaos of summer vacation. Everyone’s focus has turned to checking off boxes on the school supply list and trying to adapt to an earlier bedtime, even while the argument could be made…
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The Dog Days of Summer
How many legs does a dog have, if you call his tail a leg? Four. Saying that a tail is a leg doesn’t make it a leg. -Abraham Lincoln The dog days of summer have arrived. In preparing for this month’s blog post, I was looking up quotes that referenced the “Dog Days” and the above-quoted thought caught my attention. I mean, one of history’s greatest presidents bringing the sass to a conversation is entertaining enough, but I’d love to have been there for that chat. Beyond that, the widespread application for this little gem, is something of which to…
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What Then is Freedom?
What then is freedom? The power to live as one wishes. -Cicero It’s July. This month is, like, peak summer and I am savoring every minute of it. It’s hot, there are fireworks, the pool water is finally warm enough to jump in, gardens are beginning to produce awesome tastiness and vacations are happening or creeping closer! Also? ‘Merica. This is the month where we celebrate our nation’s independence, so, let’s talk about freedom and living as you wish… Where and how do you live? Do you own, rent, couch surf? Are you a rolling stone with no designated landing point on which to grow moss? There are no wrong…
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Halftime Report – How You Doin’?
If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success. -James Cameron This is the 6th month. The end of the second quarter. The home stretch of the first half. How you doin’? Now is a great time to reevaluate your goals for yourself, your family and/or your business. Are you tracking your progress? Have you looked at your resolutions or goals or plans since you thought them up in January? Are you 12 lbs away from your goal of losing 10 lbs? Great news: No matter your answer, it’s ok. Every day is an opportunity to regroup and…
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A Teacher, A Realtor and An OBGYN Walk Into…
Whether you’re an obstetrician or a third grade teacher or a real estate agent, you know when you’re doing good work. You’re passionate about it. -Susan Isaacs It’s May! I feel like I’ve been waiting forever and yet it got here really fast! Hooray for the month that swimming pools open and people remember their dormant love affair with all things grilled! This month is always very exciting for me. I’ve been to several real estate events already this year, but May is when the National Association of Realtors comes to Washington DC for the annual Mid-Year Conference. (Technically, it’s not called Mid-Year, but that’s another story.) Thanks to it…
