I haven't been reading as much as I have in the past (which was way too much), due to an effort to exercise more and try to get a bit more organized.  I just finished reading Twilight.  Yep.  I succumbed to the pressure of reading this "teenage love story".  My friend Denise lent it to me and she said she couldn't put it down.  I read two other books before I finally agreed to pick it up.  I was mesmerized!!  I love Anne Rice and her vampire series and this was somewhat similar, although not nearly as dark and sexy.  But sadly, I finished it this morning, and now I feel bereft without the characters swimming around in my head, keeping my mind off of other things.

Another book I really enjoyed, that was laugh out loud funny was Reginald Hill's latest Fat Andy novel, The Price of Butcher's Meat.  Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel and Chief Inspector Peter Pasco once again go head to head to solve a crime.  This time, Fat Andy is convalescing at a clinic after what happened to him in the last book, Death Comes for the Fat Man.  Inspector Dalziel is extremely rough around the edges, gruff, profane and crude and you just have to love him.  He's also one of the funniest characters in my opinion.

Also up this month was another Anne Tyler novel, Back when we were Grownups.  I love Anne Tyler and her books show how confusing emotionally it is to grow older, especially for women, where youth is such a prize.  This was about a middle aged woman who married young, into an overwhelming family of stepchildren and a family business that she took over when her husband died not too long after they were married.  She sort of wakes up, many years later, and wonders how she got there.  I get this feeling quite often... how did this happen?  How did I get to almost 50 and just be in this spot in my life?  You know the feeling.

A quick read, and one of my favorite excursions is to read Dick Francis.  Mr. Francis has teamed up with his son, Felix, and has written a book called Silks.  I liked it, maybe not as much as others, but it was a nice diversion from reality.  The good guy always comes out on top with Dick Francis, which may be too predictable to some people, but I find it comforting. 

Last but not least, at least not least in fun, if not in literary quality was Plum Lucky, the latest of the in between Stephanie Plum novels that Janet Evanovich seems to pluck out of the air every six months or so.  Stephanie Plum is an adorable bails bondsman in Trenton New Jersey.  Many handsome men, shady crooks, quirky family members and coworkers people these books and they are a hoot. 

As always, I'd love to know what you are reading.  Happy Spring!

I woke up all stressed out today.  I had a full day planned and not nearly enough time to get it all done.  In addition to any motherly/housekeeping/dog owning/cat feeding duties, I also had to pick up frozen food at Meals On Wheels of Chester County, deliver to it's recipient, drive a friend to her radiation treatment, deliver hot meals to 9 meals on wheels recipients, meet someone for lunch, show houses at 4:00 and get  Max to soccer practice for his 5:00 to 6:30 practice. 

I managed to get the morning and early afternoon things done and went home to have a hot cup of tea, a peek at my emails, a snuggle with my dog and then planned to go back out again.

One email was from the soccer coach.  No practice tonight due to rain.  He wanted us to email him back so he could be sure we received his note.  My note went like this:.

Yippee!  I mean, I'm very sorry we won't be seeing you this evening!

Then one of the houses I was to show called to cancel, their poor little son fell and broke him arm.  The buyer decided to reschedule when we could see both homes.

So now, with a stressed induced stomach ache from wondering how to be in two places at one time, I now have a few hours on my hands and I can make my 6:00 Zumba class, which I was going to miss because of work and soccer practice.

Just goes to show you that things always work out for the best.  I didn't exactly have a profitable real estate day, but I am thankful today that I had the opportunity to meet Jen Costello for lunch, another Meals on Wheels volunteer and one that coordinates all of our drivers.  We had never met in person before.  I also met her beautiful baby son.  I am thankful for the hugs I received. I am thankful that I now had time to take Max to the mall so he could buy something he's been wanting (with his own money).  I am thankful that I can go to my Zumba class and I am thankful that life is so full of surprises!  Imagine how dull life would be if we could schedule out every minute and never know what monkey wrench was being thrown into the works. 

One of my favorite Yiddish expressions is "Man plans, God laughs".

Don't I know it!

If you look really closely, you'll see me, first row on the right.  This is most of the people in both offices, crowded out in front of our Newtown Square office.

Our brokers, Mike Santoleri and Mike D'Adamo continually strive to provide us with state of the art equipment and continuing education classes to keep us at the top of our game and educated on all of the latest changes in the market.

In another of the series of seminars that our brokers provide for us, today, Scott Einbinder, will present insight into today's pricing strategies, surviving and growing in the current market and how to plan and motivate yourself ever day. 

RE/MAX PREFERRED

A great big public thank you to my brokers, two very nice men, for providing me with such a wonderful place to work, alongside some of my favorite people on the planet. 

Hamlet wonders aloud, "to stage, or not to stage, that is the question".

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
by showing a vacant house free of all furnishings,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them by hiring a good
stager and providing visual interest in a home?


The proof is in the pictures.  Staging done by Linda Sticklin, Berwyn, PA - an Active Rain member!

1557 Tattersall Way, before and after staging:

This year Mayors For Meals was once again a major success, as over 1,000 mayors from the United States and Canada delivered meals with their local Meals On Wheels program to home bound seniors.  We had many great people visiting the home bound of Chester County today, not all of them mayors, by the way.  Some are city councilmen, township supervisors, commissioners, etc. 

Right here in Goshen Towne, which is what the chapter that I oversee is called, we were proud to have Carmen Battavio, East Goshen Township Supervisor, and Kathi Cozzone, Chester County Commissioner. 

Dave Rathburn, the driver for route 1 had the pleasure of taking Carmen Battavio around.  Carmen is an old and dear friend to an agent in my office.  He is also a township supervisor in my township and the owner of Battavio Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning, so I know Carmen well.  Carmen is also a substitute driver for Meals on Wheels, wanting to give back to a program that was such a big help to his father in his later years.  Carmen and I spent a Thursday going around showing him my route a few weeks ago.

My normal day to deliver Meals on Wheels is on Thursday, and I will be delivering tomorrow, but Jeani Purcell, the Director the Meals on Wheels of Chester County, asked me if I could deliver today with Kathi Cozzone.  I have met Kathi on several occasions, as I am also on the board of the Chester County Women's Commission.  She's a great lady and a real asset as one of our Commissioners and I am happy to know her.  We had a delightful day of delivering meals and greeting the home bound, many of whom were impressed to see me in such stellar company. Click on Kathi's name above to find out more about her.  She's a very accomplished lady.

The weather was wonderful, the company spectacular and I was doing what I love best, helping others.  After a successful day, I got home to let my beloved dog JJ out, looked down at my feet and realized that I HAD TWO DIFFERENT SHOES ON!!    Well if Kathi Cozzone didn't know I was just a little dipsy before today, she certainly knows it now!  A laugh filled ending to a lovely day.

Please click on Meals on Wheels, to find out more about the program and to find out how you can help end Senior hunger.

Here they are, the first signs of hope that Spring will arrive this Friday.  With JJ, my puppy, already biting the heads off of the daffodils that have yet to bloom, I'm thinking I may have to be grateful for whatever spring color that survives.  JJ has been a light that entered my life last July and he keeps me smiling, every day.  If you ever want someone to throw you a parade every time you come home, buy a dog.  It's the best thing I have ever done for myself.

So, let's raise our glasses to a great spring market.  Let's put it out to the Universe that we need a strong spring market to see us through the rest of the year.  Our clients are counting on us.  Our families are counting on us. 

Below, to make you smile too, is my baby, with his first big boy haircut!!

At a luncheon today with a few fellow board members of the Chester County Women's Commission I learned some shocking facts about hunger in Chester County.  The flier that I was reading started with the following statement:  "In Chester County, we hide our poverty all too well".  I can attest to this fact.  I never go out to dinner around here that there isn't a long wait.  Everyone is talking into expensive looking cell phones, everyone is well dressed.  Go to a happy hour in West Chester, and the bars are 3 deep to get a glass of wine.  But there is a hidden group of people in the county that do not have enough money for food.  While my children feel badly that I haven't had a sale in a while and they can't have the latest video game, there are children going hungry.   This saddens me. 

Here are some more facts about hunger in Chester County:

• Nearly 1 in 10 of our neighbors skip meals due to lack of money to buy food.
• 122,000 households in Southeastern PA must reduce the size of meals or skips meals because they cannot afford to purchase sufficient food. 
  
• Those 122,000 households include nearly 61,000 children. 

Now I don't know about you, but I think that one hungry child is one child too many.

Here are some facts about the Chester County Food Bank:

• They serves 33 food pantries and congregate feeding sites.
• Nearly 700,000 pounds of state/federal funded food were delivered to these sites during the fiscal year 2007/2008.
  
• Donations are also made in large quantities to these sites from individuals, community groups, Wegmans, Vanguard, Acme, QVC and other corporations.
• The last half of 2008 saw a 37% increase in food requests at the 3 largest food pantries in the county (when compared to the last half of 2007).
• 66,500 pounds of food were gleaned by volunteers in fiscal year 2007/2008.
• A total of 39 farms in the county participate in the Gleaning Program.  (To learn about the Gleaning Program and the local farmers and companies that support it go to Chester County Community Foundation
• A total of 543 volunteers assist in picking from the fields for the Gleaning Program.

There are ways to help.

You can donate money.

You can donate food.

You can frequent establishments and stores that do help.

Most importantly, you can volunteer your time.

Hunger and joblessness can happen to anyone.  We need to help.

Please visit Chester County Food Bank Fund to see how your time and talents can be put to use.  www.chescocf.org

I try to be thankful for things every day.  The sunshine, my children, my pets, my home, my friends.  I am always thankful that I still have my mom.  Yesterday, my neighbor and friend Nora, buried her mom. With my own mom by my side, we went to pay our last respects to the lovely Bridget Logue, who passed away last week at the age of 80.

Bridget Logue came to America from Ireland.  She was not totally well for as long as I've known her and I know that she was not totally well for quite a bit before that.  Through all of her health trials through the years I've known her, she was a cheerful, gracious yet outspoken ray of sunshine in my life.  I loved to hear her giggle, I loved her soft Irish brogue, and I loved the way she said the word Susan.  Oh Susan, was a common refrain, because I loved to make her laugh, I tried to do so every time I saw her.  Bridget had 5 beautiful children and 8 grandchildren all of which were her pride and joy. 

I was privileged to be treated like family at Bridget's funeral yesterday.  They stood proudly by her side, as they did all of their lives, in order of their birth.  Johnny, the first born with his wife Nancy.  The lovely Bridget and her husband Dan.  Tall and handsome Peter with his partner Mike (just as tall and just as handsome).  My lovely friend and next door neighbor Nora and her husband Don.  I always kid my husband and all of the other neighbors by telling everyone that Don is the man by which I measure all men.  Handsome, successful, hardworking, handy around the house and a master gardener.  Last and certainly never least in Bridget's heart, Patrick and his partner Patrick.   10 lovely people and 8 gorgeous grandchildren. 

I have never seen a family come together so closely and lean on each other so mightily as this family and it was my privilege to be there to see their Mom home to her beloved Jesus.  Bridget had enough faith for 10 people and I have never known anyone so sure where they were going in the end as she.

So today, Thankful Thursday, March 10, I am thankful that I had the opportunity to know and love Bridget Logue.  A funny, kind and generous woman who allowed me to call her mom.  Rest in peace dear Bridie.   I love you.