Maybe this will inspire you....

AWESOME

Don't Look Back

 

In celebration of my soon to be three month wedding anniversary, I wanted to add in a few pics from the wedding that didn't make my photographer's blog or facebook.

In real estate related news... I had the craziest dream two nights ago. I dreamed I had a listing in Radford that had sold and so I was driving out to the house one night to pick up my sign and lock box. The sign was right beside the front door, and as I approached, the house started spilling forth with obnoxious partiers. I grew a little alarmed when I realized one of them did not have any clothes on and came right out by my sign. Two skanky girls were in front of them and started harrassing me, asking what I was doing there and I said that I just wanted to pick up my sign and I would leave. All the while, I'm on my phone with Doug. The people start threatening me and they call the police. I tell Doug that if he loses me, that I'm at the house in Radford right on the corner of Main St and First St and he couldn't figure out where in the world that was. (I think First St really represented Second St. and if anyone's been to Radford you know where Main St and Second St are.) So I just said, stay on the phone with me they're gonna kill me and all I want is my sign!! I got in the Mustang and one of the redneck chicks jumped on the hood of the car and I mashed the gas pedal to the floor and the car pulled out slower than a grandma Buick and I was like GEES, Dougal, this stupid Mustang won't even get me out of here. It finally took off and the girl flew off the hood. I made it to the stop sign to get on Main St and the cops started rolling in. I was afraid I would get in trouble, so I high tailed it over to Sonic. Whew! Crisis averted!!

The only explanation I have for this is possibly a deep rooted fear I have of approaching a stranger's home, for two good reasons. 1. when we were kids, our mom would drive us around the really ritzy neighborhoods of Lexington, Ky where we lived and we would admire the houses. She didn't care if they had a big long driveway that was clearly PRIVATE, if she wanted to take a good long look at the house, she'd drive right up. Invariably, my leg would itch the whole time we were in front of the house and I'd have to lean way down in the car to scratch it! :)  

2. When I used to appraise houses, I would get some evil eyes and evil comments from people as I drove up to a person's house that I was using as a comp to get a picture. Try explaining to some back-woods, shot-gun toting, toothless Jim Bob why you are on his property in the first place and why you must then take a picture.... um, yeah. you just take it, pull out as fast as you can in your Mustang and you don't look back!

Hope you all have a great weekend! Doug and Taylor #1 are off to the Scout's High Adventure camp. They are ending it tomorrow evening with a dinner at The Homeplace restaurant in Catawba... ooh boy am I jealous!

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

I was real proud of my bouquets... made by moi with help from Kirsti...

My candy and cupcake table, which I lurved!!

 

and finally... Then and Now... the reason why Matthew said he was surprised Doug ever liked me at all, with hair like that!

whatever, Taylor Swift ain't got nothin'on my hair...right, Shelley??

 And p.s. my awesome photographer was Natalie Gibbs. Check out her blog!

Refinance?

People often ask me if they should refinance their current mortgage. There are lots of things to consider, especially if the closings costs required to refinance are really worth it in the short and long term. Here is a cool calculator to help you determine if you should refinance your current loan. Click here.

School

Well, we're at the end of the second week of school. Last year, we had a real problem with seventh grade bullies making Taylor's life miserable the first couple of months. It seems that this year might be the year that Matthew has his turn and may have to punch some kids in the nose, or open up a can...

My rule has always been, do not hit first, try to let an adult handle the issue, but if some kid hits you or tries to beat you up, you aim for the nose or where it counts. I don't want any of my kids being scared at school or on the bus. Matthew reported that a kid continually poked him with a "needle" on the bus Tuesday afternoon. What he meant was the kid had a button, or what you might call "flair", and was poking him with the safety pin part and wouldn't stop. Well, that made my blood boil. Then, yesterday, his teacher called to let me know that one of Matthew's friends had bitten him quite hard on the arm while waiting for the bus. GRRRR!
So, I had to have a little Come to Jesus Meeting with the principal this morning. I have always had good results with the teachers and principals of the Christiansburg schools in getting issues like these resolved, so I am hoping for the best.


Many times, I have clients ask how the schools are rated here and which are the best. My kids have always attended Christiansburg schools and I have been happy with them. I know that Blacksburg and Radford schools are rated very well, too. Here is a link that you can go to find the scores of just about anything a school can be ranked in Virginia. Do any of you know of any other good sites? I'm always trying to find others... please leave a comment if you know of any other good links!  

Benadryl, please.

I decided to forgo my usual nightly dose of Benadryl that I have become accustomed to after moving into a house who's basement is slathered in the sheddings of this lovely creature... meet Winnie, or Winston if you're feeling formal:
I figured I was sleepy and comfortable enough and maybe I wouldn't wake up sneezy or itchy, so I settled into the shoulder of this sexy creature (read: husband, punkie, hotness) and found myself tracing the outline of his bicep and the veins in his forearms drifting off as he still mumbled something while raking his huge hands through my hair. I told him I had been inspired to write absolutely nothing on my blog today. He tugged my hair and told me to write what's in my heart. So peaceful, so right, but oh so wrong to be awakened at 3 am by some ungodly creature that had apparently eaten the above cutie and was now having problems breathing because said cutie's big feet must've gotten stuck in it's throat on his gulp down.


Baby, I love you, but you snore like a water buffalo.
So, I moved to the cold leather couch and wrapped my whole body tightly in a quilt and proceeded to count the minutes between 3 am and 6 am. I read the news on my Blackberry and got caught up on the great health care debate and reform, all the while praying for the minute that my throat wouldn't be scratchy any more and my thoughts would turn to liquid, which signals the point when you know sleep is finally creeping back in. My thoughts started to slip and slide into each other and it made me think of an oil slick on a driveway in the 80's where all of us neighbor kids would gather to ride our big wheels. (or maybe I just wanted to add another picture)
So, what's in my heart and how on earth do I make it pertain to real estate? Well, I think you have to have a vision in life. You have to have a goal or many goals along the way. You have to believe in it and you have to see it as if you've already crossed the finish line. Sometimes people get very disappointed in the home search process. Maybe their expectations are too high, maybe they don't know what they want. I think as with any other goal in life, you have to be clear on your vision of the right home for you, while being realistic, and if something gets in the way of what you thought was the perfect home, just remember that sometimes unanswered prayers are the best kind and things work out for a reason! I found some great articles on hgtv's frontdoor website and thought it has some awesome tips to help you paint the vision of the perfect home for you!

Back at it again...

Well, it's another Monday! I think my husband thought I was nuttier than usual posting that last pic, but hey- that's how the first week of school made us all feel, so there it is!

I've found some great resources that answer tons of questions about buying or selling a home on HGTV's website. Check out this link to making your next real estate transaction DRAMA-FREE!

The air feels a lot less humid today and makes me anxious for fall and good hair! :) hope everyone's day is great!

Back to School

Wednesday was the first day back to school for Montgomery County. I have an 8th grader, Big Taylor, a second grader, Bryson, a first grader, Matthew, and a 4 year old pre-schooler, Little Taylor. Yes, I have two Taylors- I inherited the cute girl one through marriage- as fate would have it, we both had a kiddo named Taylor, and yes, it is completely confusing. The kids came up with the Big and Little prefixes and it's just stuck. To date, the 8th grader is MUCH happier with his science teacher this year. She happened to have a Rubiks Cube on her desk that had been been all mixed up, stickers moved around and all, and my genius Big Taylor who can solve one in 45 seconds or less, was able to rearrange her stickers back to the correct spots using his magical, mythical Rubics Cube algorithims and hit it off great with his new teacher. (Science was the class that pretty much ruined 7th grade for us all last year.)
Matthew, absolutely loves first grade and is SO glad not to have to take a nap and is SO excited to have homework! yes, you heard right- a boy who anxiously awaits homework, I pray he always stays that way!
Bryson's second grade teacher was excited to have him in her class as she remembered him from last year being in the class beside her and that he was a very sweet, well-behaved boy. He is very smart, too.

I'm a lucky girl to have my crazy, awesome, little/big family!! Hope you all have a great first week of school whenever it may be!

(and btw- only 101 days left to get the first time homebuyer tax credit! Time is ticking!!)