I am getting ready, as I do every Thursday, to deliver meals on wheels.  I am running late, as I am usually running on Thursdays!  What it is not doing, which it has been doing every Thursday for as long as I can remember, is raining!  So, I am extremely thankful for that.  It may rain later, but I won't get wet delivering my meals!

I decided to do a photo Thankful Thursday, just to give you guys some ideas for the contest .... come on now... we need entries and this is a shameless way to get them!  If I've piqued your interest... please click on Mike Saunder's post about the contest... time is running out to enter!

This is something I bought with money Max gave me for Mother's Day this year.  I love to buy flowers when my son gives me money, so I can always tell him and show him how I spent it!  It's a gift that keeps giving and I am thankful Max always listens to me when I tell him what I want.

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Obviously, this one doesn't really need an explanation.  This little fella is something to be thankful for every minute, and the vision of his little face is enough to warm the coldest heart!

My astilbe... glorious!  This is a short-lived perrenial, but when it blooms, it is a beauty.  I am thankful it blooms just before our annual vacation so that I get to see it and enjoy it before I go.

Ah yes... I know.  I already mentioned my little fella!  Some things just beg to be repeated and this is one.  If this isn't a vision of thanks, I don't know what is.  Look at that button nose!  Look at those warm brown eyes and that messy head!!  Who wouldn't love this dog? JJ is named after my husband Jack who did not want a dog.  He did not want a dog for 24 years, exactly 1/2 the time I've wanted a dog... 48 years and counting.  Well, it took me long enough and we argued about it often enough that I finally did it last year... one of the best arguments I've ever won.  To be a bit bitchy I named the little guy Jack Junior.  To be a little ornery, Jack tells everyone he's named after Jesse Jackson!!! 

Life is hard, life is hectic, life can be disappointing at times.  But there is always, always, always, something to be thankful for.  My sons, my mom, my entire network of family and friends, are healthy and it's summertime, and soon, I'll be on a beach reading a book, so I am thankful. 

Carpe Diem!!

East Goshen is a lovely township.  I am proud to not only work in East Goshen, but also feel privileged to live in such a beautiful place.  We've had a lot of rain here lately, but the other day, we had one of the most spectacular rainbows I have ever seen. 

If you have been thinking of moving to Chester County and want to know more about townships like East Goshen, contact me!  I'd love to show you around... maybe we'll find the house at the end of the rainbow!

This picture is the property of Susan Mangigian and can not be duplicated without permission. 

My friend Janice Roosevelt was kind enough to blog about this and I thought I'd spread the word.  This sounds like a fun time, and it's FREE!!

Rolling over this morning when my alarm went off, my immediate reaction to another day of rain here on the East Coast was a huge sigh and one word .... sh#t!  Good grief... is it ever going to stop raining here?  Not even the proverbial "farmers" that people always say love the rain, can be happy about all of the wet, gloomy weather.  Doesn't God realize I have to wipe JJ's paws every freaking time he goes outside in this mess?

Okay, enough grousing.  I'll be thankful for my green lawn and the fact that I haven't had to drag the hose all over the yard to water my precious flowers.  I'll be thankful that I haven't had to fill the pool up with a hose, not once this season.  I'd also like to take the time to thank the following people who've helped me through various issues in the last few weeks.

1.  Dan Moore.  Dan is my plumber, and a wonderful plumber he is.  I met Dan when my older son Mike played t-ball at age 5.  Dan was his coach.  Since then, Dan has helped me through many a plumbing mishap.  I called Dan one morning many years ago at 7:00 AM because I discovered my hot water heater had exploded and I was standing in my basement, ankle deep in water and couldn't figure out how to turn the water off.  Dan came right over, so I would not get electrocuted.  This month, my sink in the kitchen backed up.  I have a "fix it yourself" book that should probably be one of the first books to be banned and burned if society ever gets the urge to go that route again.  I followed the directions.  I got a big bucket.  I emptied the sink from above.   I put the big bucket under the sink and undid the traps.  Guess what that miserable book didn't tell me?  That the water on the other side of the wall, that was blocked up going to the street... well that was going to fill my bucket too.  Overfill it, in fact.  Who are you going to call?  Don't bother with Ghost-busters... just call Daniel Moore, Plumbing and Heating... 610-696-5149.  Not only will you NOT get a better job from someone else, you won't find a nicer man. 

2.  Brian Dunleavy, of B. Dunleavy & Sons.  Brian is a roofer and he just put a very nice roof on my home.  Brian's price was very competiive and he did a bang up job (literally... do you know how noisy roofers are??) on my home.  If you need a roof, or even a roof repair, give Brian a call.  610-733-7017.  Brian is the rare roofer willing to do small jobs too.

3.  Last, and most certainly not least in my heart is The Neighborhood Hospice program at the Chester County Hospital.  A friend has been spending some time here and I have to tell you, this is one of the nicest places I have ever encountered.  The staff, the volunteers, even the lunch ladies have been so unfailing sweet to my friend.  My forever thanks to them for making this time in her life so much better than it could be. 

I have had kind of a rough week.  Feeling sorry for myself because my list of clients that seemed so hopeful, that I worked so hard on, that I showed countless houses to, are all deciding. one by one, that this is not the time.  Tuesday, after showing homes to transferees all weekend and spending countless hours making appointments, scheduling showings, the buyers decided to rent.  Lovely young couple, I wanted to help them so badly, but the sticker shock was just too much for them. 

I literally went back to bed.  Sometimes, enough is enough.  But, I'm up and at "em" again.  I'm going to get on the phone, and start some new stuff happening.  I will be thankful that I am still standing.  That even though I'm having trouble with my right arm, and x-rays show nothing, I can still use it (sort of).  That while I could use some more motivated buyers, I have two more settlements coming up.  

Longfellow -
- Be still sad heart and cease repining;
Behind the clouds the sun is shining,
Thy fate is the common fate of all,
Into each life a little rain must fall,
Some days must be dark and dreary.

Mangigian -

Enough already.  Okay?

Thankful Thursday, 6/18/09

Carpe Diem!!

Seeing is going to be believing.  This townhouse is just lovely and the seller would love to see you living here!  A job transfer makes this unit available, but you can make it your home.

Move right in!

74 Portsmouth Circle, Glen Mills, PA 19342 View Map

Relax.... Enjoy!! Lovely townhouse in the popular Greenbriar development. 3 bedrooms, 2/12 baths, gorgeous gourmet kitchen, gas heat, and so much more. Pull into your garage and sigh, you are home.

Greenbriar is located on Rt 926, just west of 352.

For a tour of this beautiful home, call Susan Mangigian, RE/MAX PREFERRED, 610-719-1700,

Details

Asking Price:

$364,900

MLS:

5486805

Sq. Feet:

2356

Bedrooms:

3

Bathrooms:

2.5

# of Floors:

2

HOA/Maintenance Fees:

127

Garage Size:

1

Subdivision:

Greenbriar

Year Built:

2006

Property Amenities

- Range/Oven
- Sink Disposal
- Microwave
- Dishwasher
- Fireplace

- Hardwood floors
- Vaulted Ceilings
- Basement
- Central A/C
- Central Heat

- Family room
- Dining Room
- Breakfast nook
- Granite Countertops
- Laundry area - inside

Contact Info

Susan C. Mangigian
Realtor

Main 610-719-1700
Cell 610-299-6237
Dir 484-356-2965
Email | Website

---

Carl E. Williams
Sales Manager
Chase East Pennsylvania Media
1055 East Baltimore Pike
Media, PA 19063
610-892-6622
Email

Off Duty. 

According to Answers.com, the definition of off duty is as follows: 

1. Not engaged in or responsible for assigned work.
2. Of or relating to the periods when a person is not engaged in or responsible for assigned work.

I passed a bus on the way to a 6:00 AM Zumba class this morning and the sign in front said "Off Duty".  It got me thinking about my life and the words "off duty".  When was the last time a Realtor was off duty?  Not often.  When was the last time a mom was off duty?  Never!  As a mom, a wife, a daughter, a friend, a sister, a cousin, a volunteer, a pool boy, chief cook and bottle washing laundress and a gardener, I am never off duty.  NEVER. (Unless I am away on a girls weekend, but that's a subject for another Thankful Thursday!).

So today, 6/11/09, I am thankful for the busyness of life.  Is it a lot of work?  You bet.  Is it worth it.  You better believe it.  I realize that someday, I will be off duty and I know I am not going to like it!

I am thankful for the loveliness of the flowers I've planted.  I am thankful for the cilantro that I planted and put on my grilled tilapia for lunch.  I am thankful for the years the market was so good I could put a pool in my backyard and although I do the pool work, I am thankful to be able to jump in feet first, while holding my nose, and enjoy the sheer fun of it.  I am thankful that I can cook and that I am enjoying the smell of the beef stew I am making for my husband's birthday dinner. 

I had two closings scheduled for yesterday.  One went, one didn't.  I am hopeful the second one will close, but I was assured it would be today and as of right now, 4:26 PM, our time, still no word.  I am choosing to be thankful the builder gave the buyers a key so they would not be homeless last night.  I am very thankful I didn't have to face them with a full truck of furniture and no answers. 

Tonight, we will eat as a family, home-cooked beef stew over butter noodles with angel food cake and fresh strawberries and whipped cream for dessert.  I am thankful to be able to say that I cook dinner for my family almost every night.  If I have an evening appointment, I always try to have a dinner prepared for them, even if I can't be there to eat with them.  Even though it occasionally feels like I am living with Cain and Able, I am thankful for these two very different boys.  This morning Max had to have an emergency orthodontist visit.  I told him to sleep in and that we would have breakfast at Burger King together before school.  We were sitting there, eating and joking, and I was thinking... "this is nice".  Just then, my sweet, almost 13 year old boy, looked up and smiled.  He said... "this is nice".  Wow.  On the same wavelength.  It was one of those magic moments that gets you through each day. 

Yep...  this is nice.

P.S.  dont forget to enter the Thankful Thursday photo contest! 

http://activerain.com/blogsview/1111377/the-thankful-thursdays-group-photo-image-contest-starts-today-come-and-get-your-points

Mike Saunders has given me the honor of being one of the judges of the Thankful Thursday group picture contest.  Let's have some fun with this one!

EAST GOSHEN TOWNSHIP

COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE!

SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2009

9:00 am TO 1:00 pm

Come on out and grab a treasure.