We're Engaged!!!

Well everyone- it's finally happened! Justin proposed last night and I accepted! It's been a long time coming but I'll take it. I must admit that I couldn't be happier- the man, the ring, the family, the love. I think the best part (besides it actually happening) has been everyones reaction to the news...it's been pretty consistent...the first reaction is "Finally!" followed by an overwhelming squeal of "Oh my god- I can't believe it!" Lol... Well, I guess Grandpa and Pop-pop have been working their magic in more ways then one... We love you all so much and thank you for sharing our happy news with us!

Hey everyone! It's Brooke and Justin writing this one together this time! Boy- it's been a crazy summer...which surprised the both of us, actually, because it started out REALLY slow, especially when it comes to the topic of work. Justin was pretty worried when he hadn't made a sale in almost a year but Grandpa Joe and Pop-pop must be looking out for us because he's had a boom in sales recently; he's got 6 deals going right now and is on the verge of having 2 more in the works! Thank the heavens! I guess we won't have to eat Timber and Tika to get by...lol...Never!

Needless to say, with all the work we've been doing, we haven't had a lot of time to enjoy the summer...Although, we did do a couple of fun things...We took a hike down to this area called Bushkill Falls- that was a great day...the weather was beautiful, the scenery was breathtaking, and we had great company (Brooke's mom, two sisters and their kids were with us). We swam under a waterfall and picked blueberries. Another fun day was when, Justin's friend Greg came out from Seattle with his girlfriend, Jordan, and we went to a Yankee's game out in the Bronx; they have a beautiful stadium; We ate hot dogs and fries and had lots of laughs. The next day we met back up with them in Manhattan and did a really nice dinner in the meat packing district and spent the night walking around town and taking in the sights. Another fun thing we did this summer was when we threw an engagement party for Brooke's friends at our house. We had our bonfire going and we played some good old fashioned games like manhunt and jackpot bingo. We both lost but that's ok :)

Those were some of the highlights of our summer...Nothing crazy but it was fun. We're just keeping busy and plugging away. We're looking forward to seeing everyone in a few weeks and are anticipating our time away from the office. We'll post more soon! Love you all!

RIP - Edward Poznak aka "Pop-Pop"

I apologize for the lack of posting. Things have gotten hectic around here over the past 2 weeks. Brooke's mom, Carolyn, who I also work with, has been out of the office for a while caring for a few sick family members - one of which was her father. Unfortunately, he passed away a few nights ago. Carolyn was by his side when he left our world. He was 93 years old!

Everyone, including me, referred to him as "pop-pop." He was always smiling, got around very well for his age and loved making other people smile with him. He worked as an appliance repairman and lived in Staten Island, NY in the house he built around 50 years ago. He had a vacation home here in Lake Naomi which is now the home Carolyn lives in.

Below is his newspaper obituary which I thought was well-written and appropriately summarized a great man:

EDWARD POZNAK, 93
04/15/2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Edward J. Poznak, a native Staten Islander and longtime mechanic and aviator who was surprised by Cupid at age 84, died Tuesday in Staten Island University Hospital, Prince's Bay, following a brief illness. His age was 93.
Mr. Poznak grew up in Mariners Harbor, where he developed his love of flying as a boy, his family said. He would cross the Kill van Kull on a raft and spend all day watching planes take off and land at the airfield in Newark.

He graduated from what was then known as Vocational Tech High School on the Island, and moved to New Dorp in 1945 and to Lighthouse Hill in 1962.
For more than 25 years Mr. Poznak was chief mechanic for the appliance department at the Sears store in Port Richmond, before he went into business for himself and opened Ed's Appliance Co. out of his home, which he ran for 15 years until his retirement in the 1980s.
Mr. Poznak was remembered for his love of family, and was delighted when he became a great-great-grandfather a week ago, but he also loved flying.
Mr. Poznak got his pilot's license in 1937 and took trips all over the country in his Cessna and Piper planes, from circuits around the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty to Maine and Nashville, Tenn.
His daughter, Carolyn Barcia, recalled one night when Mr. Poznak, flying in a storm that had knocked out power to a New Jersey airfield below, landed with only the aid of headlights on a truck.
"He was just such an adventuresome person," Mrs. Barcia said. "When he was up in a plane he was like a bird, he was so happy. . . . He used to say he flew by the seat of his pants."
Mr. Poznak was a member of the Knights of Columbus, Assumption Council, and the Airplane Owners & Pilots Association. He was also a longtime parishioner and volunteer at St. Ann's R.C. Church in Dongan Hills.
Mr. Poznak was married to his Anastasia (Tszuska) for 51 years before she died in 1991. They had three children together: Two daughters and a son, William E. Poznak, who died in 1995. Nine years ago, Mr. Poznak wed Theresa Ebert, whom he'd met at a Catholic Widows and Widowers event a year earlier.
She survives him, as do his daughters, Irene E. Parisi and Carolyn C. Barcia; a brother, Charles Poznak; eight grandchildren; four great-grandchildren, and the great-great grandson born just a week ago.
The funeral will be Monday from the Matthew Funeral Home, Willowbrook, with a mass at 10 a.m. in St. Ann's Church. Burial will follow in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp.

Hey everyone- it's Brooke- I figured I'd give this a try (Plus, I'm trying to learn how to upload videos from youtube and I want to see if it works)...Justin and I have been quite busy over the last few days. We drove out to Long Island, NY on the 9th to visit my new nephew in the hospital and he is absolutely adorable!! He reminds me of a little turtle! Things are progressing well with him, they still have to do a muscle biopsy on him today, but if everything comes back normal then Chantel and Dan should be able to take him home on Monday. I'm like a crazy aunt right now...I just can't take enough pictures and give him kisses on his little head...lol.We're also getting ready for our cruise that's coming up in two weeks- that means working out at the gym like a mad man (gotta get abs of steel) and shopping (woohoo). We're both really excited and looking forward to getting away and can't wait to relive how we first met in Cozumel, Mexico (almost 5 years to the day)! We have shore excursions planned that include swimming with dolphins, a lazy river tube ride that flows through caves, ziplining, hiking through the jungle and tanning on the beach (of course)... ;) All I have to say is, "Bring it on!"On the upside, the weather is finally starting to turn- it hit 70 yesterday! I know, I know...that's nothing to you- but that's desert to us :) Spring is here- YAY!! Well, that's all the time I have right now...I love you all! XOXOXO!

Oh Baby!

The last week had been pretty uneventful. After forecasted temperatures in the high 50's and low 60's, we ended up with highs in the low 40's. As a result, I went to work, went to the gym and went home and watched movies. Then, on Sunday night, we went to one of our clients' son's Bar Mitzvahs. It was a big affair - it is treated almost like a wedding. There was more food than an army could eat, a band & emcee & 3 person dance team and two singers for entertainment. I lot of dancing and celebrating and we had a really good time. Then, the next morning, Brooke's niece Chantel had a C section and gave birth to her 6 lb 9 oz baby boy. Brooke and I are going to drive out to NY tomorrow to visit.

April Fools

Well, April 1 has come and gone. Luckily, nobody tried to pull any tricks on me. I had been spending the past two days getting ready for a meeting with my accountant yesterday. It is always a tense time for me because even though I have "X" number of dollars in savings, I never really know where I will stand after I pay taxes. Also, since my income fluctuates so much month to month and even year to year, I have found it challenging to set up any kind of a budget.

Sales have been down a bit but it is our slowest time of the year. I am hoping that by the time summer rolls around, the housing market, stock market, and economy in general will be doing better. I have several buyers who want to buy a home but are waiting until the "market" settles down. It made me cringe to read in the news today that the Fed chief stated that "a recession is possible." That will make almost anyone tighten their purse strings.

That being said, I must remember the rules of "The Secret" and think poisitively. For every day that passes without a sale, I am one day closer to a sale!...right?!

Marching into April

Hey all, sorry for my absence on our blog. With work being mellow and my head back on straight, I thought I would try to pick up where I left off - hopefully with a bit more consistency. I have been back from CA for about a week now. I had a great time visiting family and friends. The trip went by way too fast, but it really perked up my mood (winter blues) and I can handle whatever cold weather we have left until Spring.

As I type this, it is 24 degrees outside yet there are no clouds in the sky and it is very sunny. It feels like the seasons are a-changin'. On Tuesday we have a high of 62!!! I never thought I would get excited over temperatures like that, but this California boy will take what he can get! Too bad I can't shoot down to DC for a day or two - they are having their cherry blossom festival right now and the online pictures look spectacular. At least I got to see some of them while in CA...

Sausalito, CA

sunrise

I took this picture last week and thought I'd post it. It is a bit symbolic because I have been trying to think of things in my life that I hadn't been too happy with as situations about to change. Like night was going to turn to day. There is always a ray of light if you look for it. A ray of hope that good things lie ahead - regardless of current circumstances.

The real estate market had been slow and I was starting to worry about money but I thought that things had to turn around eventually. I was patient about it (sort of) but also took action. I focused on marketing and following up with leads. The result - I just sold two homes.

I also bought an investment home here which was nice. Obviously I didn't want to spend the money but it was a great deal and as the saying goes..."you've got to spend money to make money."

Work has been crazy lately. I was supposed to have today off but have too many things going that aren't very concrete at the moment. It is an odd real estate market right now in that sellers aren't willing to sell for a low price and buyers ask for the world and will quickly walk away if they don't get what they want. It has taken quite a bit of effort to keep some of my transactions scotch-taped together.

I suppose it is a good problem to have. Other than that, things are cruising along. Still trying to decide what we're going to do for Halloween and looking forward to our CA visit. About amonth from now, Brooke and I are going to Connecticut for an overnight stay. The comedian Howie Mandel who is hilarious will be out at a casino performing so we're going to go check him out.

Glad that Jon will be heading home. I hope he gets here in time for his b-day!!!!

FINALLY - a new post

Here are some pictures of the lake and our home. Fall is in full swing here and it is beautiful. Since Brooke and I will be in California for most of December and won't be decorating the house for Christmas, I went crazy with the Halloween decorations. Yes, I did most of it myself. Brooke has me watching too many Martha Stewart shows............

Wow, a month since my last post. I guess I can't stay committed to this blog thing. Either that or Brooke and I don't take enough pictures because what is a blog without pictures; really!? Every time we actually do something worth taking pictures of, I forget my camera. There's nothing new in our lives to report other than trying to plan a trip to California in December again.

picture time

Here are some long overdue pictures. Some are of Brooke and I playing golf and the others are from when mom & dad were out visiting.

I've been a bad, bad blogger

Things have been so crazy lately that I haven't had much time for tending to this site which isn't very cool of me. I realized that I ony posted twice last month and this will be the first blog in August. "Get it together, man!"



Work has been steady which is good. I haven't been selling homes at the rate I did last year, so I really have to start budgeting since the bank acocunts are slowly dwindling. That being said, I have been fortunate to have some things going on business-wise that are promising. I had my friend, Toby, out last weekend and it ended up being very busy around here. We had fun though. He had never been to the east coast so I showed him around New York City which was nice. A great thing I discovered which I wish I did when mom & dad visited out here was the double decker buses. You pay about $40 per person and an open-air bus takes you around all of the highlights of the city. It stops at all of the attractions and you can hop off, see what you want, then catch the next bus that comes around and keep going. A great way of seeing the city!

Well, I've got to go. bye for now.......

Blogless

Sorry for the lack of new blogs. I have been really busy here at work and haven't had much time for anything else. My friend Toby is coming out this next weekend which should give me some pictures to post on the blog. The Pocono 500 Nascar race will be taking place and we're going to that which should be fun.

Whose kitchen is this???

Well, we now have a kitchen fit for a chef with our GE Profile appliances, granite countertops, tile floors, and maple cabinets. Now we just need the chef...

Dust is in the air

We're currently having our kitchen remodeled. It is very close to being done now - we'll have everything done after Monday except for the delivery of the new fridge on the 30th. Here are some pics of the progress...........





BEFORE

DURING

ALMOST DONE...


As you can see, Brooke is pretty excited about it. Since the last photo, the granite countertops have been installed (thanks again for all who voted and helped make our decision), the floors have been tiled, and the backsplash is up. By tomorrow afternoon, all of the GE stainless steel appliances will be in except for the refrigerator. I'll post final pictures after mom and dad get out here and see the finished product in person. No need to spoil the surprise!!!

Giants spank the Phillies

Don't worry about my hat...I'm not a traitor, just trying to blend in with my surroundings

Brooke and I checked out a Phillies game last week. The game was on a Monday and despite the cloudy skies, no rain fell and by the 8th inning, the sun came out in full force. The Giants spanked the Phillies so hard that most of the fans had left before the game was over. Good for us, because 15 minutes after the game, the security guards let fans walk the infield warning track which was fun for me. I wish I was a senior citizen - they got the round the bases!

who knew - no new news

I keep forgetting to bring Brooke's camera to work with me and it has all of the new pictures we've taken. This past Monday we went to a Phillies baseball game which was a lot of fun. We had pretty good seats and the ball field was beautiful. After the game, we got the opportunity to walk on the baseball field which I thought was really cool.

Work has been a little slow but I feel it is the calm before the storm. I think in a month's time I will be a lot busier. Brooke and I are waiting for an installation date for our new cabinets which is holding us up because we can't order the countertops, flooring, or appliances until we know what is going on. It has been a little frsutrating because I've had a hard time getting certain contractors to call me back. It happens a lot more often up here than I'd like.

Anyway, I'll post new pictures as soon as I can......

Greased Lightning

Well, we experienced a thrilling night of thunder and lightning last night. Actually, the forecast predicts more of the same over the next few days. Lightning bolts were literally striking all around the area and they occurred every 5-10 seconds. The storm lasted for about 30 minutes so I tried to snap a couple photos of it.

Other than that, just hanging out. Here is a picture of Tika checking out the new bed Brooke bought her.

Memorial Day

Today we honor and remember

the many fallen brave

who gave their lives in war and battle

their friends and family to save.

The men were brave, the men were true,

And they believed in what soldiers do.

They fought the enemy on land and sea,

They fought for freedom, honor & liberty.

Today as we enjoy our freedom

let us never forget

The many ones who've fought and died -

the many who are fighting yet.

Let's not forget our soldiers.

Let's not forget to pray

for the men and women still strong and brave

on the battlefields today.

America...it's time to vote!!!!!!!!!

I took pictures of both countertop options in different lights. It's so hard to capture their "true" colors but here you go. Let us know what you think.

Option 1

Option 1

Option 2

Option 2

Compare - Option 2 on left and Option 1 on right

Side by side comparison

Our new bench.

ramblin' man

I have no new pictures to post but I thought I would write something anyway. Hence the title of today's blog. It is the end of my workday and I'm going to go home and change to go to the gym. It is busy this weekend due to all of the people coming up for Memorial Day Weekend. It is pretty warm today - 84 degrees as I'm writing this.

Carolyn and I had 2 closings today, well, one and she is in the middle of the second. I have been busy with that and showing some customers a few homes that they're interested in. Hopefully that is a sign of a busy selling season.

Timber and Tika are doing well. Tika is still adjusting to her new environment and hasn't quite grasped the whole potty training thing yet. We went out yesterday and bought a big folding cage for her so that she'll have a 25 square foot area to learn how to potty outside without either one of us having to worry about her wandering too far away while we're waiting for her to do her business. Let's hope it works.

I've been a little frustrated lately with a couple dozen carpenter ants crawling around in my house. I called the pest company but they won't be out until Tuesday so I sprayed the outside myself with some spray. I have also been handy doing some rudimentary landscaping as well as buying and assembling a little bench for our front porch that I bought on sale at Ace Hardware.

I'm looking forward to the kitchen being finished up. Brooke and I are having a hard time selecting the granite for our countertops. She and Carolyn narrowed to down to 2 pieces but it is hard to choose one with such a small sample piece. I keep going back and forth - one day I like the lighter one and the next I like the darker one.

I'll try to remember to post pictures of everything tomorrow so you can see what I'm talking about.........

bArKiNG bUbbLe bAtH

bath time

I took some pictures last night of the dogs getting their bath but my computer here at work won't recognize Brooke's camera, so I can't upload the pics. I'll do so at home later tonight. In the meantime, here is a picture if Tika's first bath that she got a couple weeks ago...

Belated Birthday Pictures

Well, Brooke celebrated her 26th birthday on the 7th and I thought I should finally post some pictures of it. The last one is of Brooke and her friend Tara who went out to dinner with us. Brooke's dad Frank finally met the puppy Tika and thought she was cute. When he found out how much we payed for her, he almost fell out of his chair. I told him that it was a lot of money but that the way I figure it, I don't have to get Brooke another birthday or Christmas present for the next decade. He laughed a lot at that one.

Brooke didn't find it so amusing......

Tut and Nefertiti

Just a couple pictures from our visit to the King Tut exhibit in Philly a couple weeks ago. They didn't allow any photos in the museum, so no cool pictures of his artifacts although there is a nice shot of Brooke and I looking like dorks. Good enough?