postable

Ok, I updated my settings so that anyone (not just members) can leave a post. Thanks for letting me know mom. ;)

New look, same great taste

Well, despite my hectic schedule, I found enough time to chage the look of my blog. I hope you find it.....refreshing.
:)

What's new

I have been really busy at work lately. Four of our listings are under negotiations and all of them seem like they will come together. One of my buyers is waiting for a signature from the sellers and they will be under contract as well. I have one buyer on the fence; trying to decide what to buy and another appointment on Sunday that looks promising. It is nice to have some things brewing. Between going to work and then the gym, I haven't been spending too much time at home. I can't rememeber the last day I had off of work. I think it was new year's eve. Hopefully I can find some free time after the weekend. I have real estate classes all day tomorrow and Thursday. Hopefully I can post again on Friday and have some actual news to share with you.

Winter wonderland

Well, as you can see, we had snow here last night. This picture was taken this morning before I went to work. Did somebody say snowball fight????

Work has been going well. I have some buyers that I've been working with, so we'll see what pans out with them. I took some real estate courses yesterday on contracts. I feel like the more I learn in this business, the more I realize I don't know or some of the things I did know were wrong. It scares me because customers, other agents, and really anybody can bring a law suit against me, report me, fine me, etc for the strangest reasons. I just learned that if I tell a prospective buyer that a home they are considering buying is near a registered sexual predator, I can be sued , reported and fined by the real estate commission. I would do it anyway, but odd laws like that make me feel like I have to walk on eggshells with my buyers yet if you walk on eggshells, you can't really do a good job because you are spending too much time covering your ass. I'd rather do what I feel is right at the expense of possibly getting disciplined by the commission than to do things by the book at the expense of my integrity. So frustrating.

Aside from that, I don't have much else to report. Brooke's computer battery is depleted and her recharger isn't working, so until it comes in, I can only post here but I have been too busy lately to post regularly. Sorry Jon. Anyway, I love you all. Talk to you soon.

latest update

I just sold my honda accord yesterday to Brooke's brother-in-law, Walter. He needed a reliable commuter car which it will be. It has over 200K miles on it but those cars are made to run like the energizer bunny. Plus, the first owner and myself have taken good care of it an most of the miles are freeway miles so it should last him another 50K-100K miles .

I'm getting used to my new Yukon. I must say that I really like it. I'm taking it into a GMC shop in a week because one of the 3rd row seats doesn't fold down. Stupid me for not checking everything out thoroughly. I just didn't have enough time and assumed the fact that it was GM Certified would be insurance enough. Oh well.

I have been working out more frequently lately which feels good. I am getting stronger and have been focusing on being more consistent with cardio. My goal is to run about 10 miles a week. I hope I stick to it.

Well, I gotta go for now. Work beckons.

It's blog time!

Well, I finally have a moment to post a decent blog. I am at work and, so far, it has been quiet. I brought Brooke's camera thinking that she would have some pictures that would be good to post but no luck.

There is a picture of me witho ne of my Christmas gifts - a Timex "Ironman" digital watch. I really like it. It is one of those things that I've always wanted but never bought myself.

There is also the fun picture of me the night that brooke and I attempted to eat some king crab legs that never got eaten on XMas night (too much other food!). They were so big and had so much meat. It reminded me of the lobster that mom, dad, Brooke and I ate in Cabo San Lucas at the Trailer Park restaurant. HUGE.

Lastly, a picture taken yesterday of Lake Naomi. The weather here has been so weird. Yesterday night it was 59 degrees! In Penn. in January! Wait - let me post a picture taken around this time last year to give you a better idea....



This picture was taken in October/November. If you look closely, you can see the pumpkin on the front steps. This picture is of Brooke's mom's house.

Back to the weather. By now, we should have snow, ice, and bitter cold. By now, I would be thinking "what the heck was I thinking moving out here?!" But now with the weather like this, I almost feel like I'm in CA. I wouldn't rush to blame global warming but our planet does seem to be going through a bit of a change. I previewed a house yesterday and while walking around the yard, I saw a fly which is ood for this time of year. Also, some of the local flowers are starting to bud. I've also heard that some animals haven't hibernated yet like they are supposed to. And the strangest thing of all, I saw several guys golfing yesterday. That should only be happening in Florida this time of year. :)

I just finished reading one of the books I got for XMas - "Next" by Michael Crichton. It was really enjoyable. He is the author of "Jurassic Park" and his books have a scientific edge to them. This one incorporated recent breakthroughs in genetic reasearch that were very interesting. I'm really looking forward to reading the new Vince Flynn book I got titled "Act of Treason." Normally I would have read it by now but I wanted to wait until I could spend a lot of time reading it since I know it will be hard to put down. Jon knows what I mean (Mitch Rapp).

Anyway, I should get going. I'll post again asap.

blog this!

Hey everybody. Thanks a lot for all of the nice comments about my new ride. I have really been enjoying it and I know it will help a lot when it really starts to snow around here. I don't have a lot of time to write this blog right now. One of my customers will be here any minute to look at some homes. I have been really busy at work the past few days which is great. I didn't think that we'd be selling homes like we are this time of year.

Becuase I have been so busy, I haven't had the time to post any new updates to our blog (sorry Jon). The only time I really do it is while I'm at work but I haven't had the down time to do so. I am trying so hard to wake up right now. I stayed up late and was getting ready to fall asleep when Brooke started having trouble breathing again so at 2:30am I took her to the E.R. (35 minutes away). She's ok, just bronchitis that won't go away. I didn't get to bed until after 5am and was lucky to get my 3 hours of sleep. That being said, my 2nd cup of coffee doesn't have me as charged up as I'd like it to. Where's a starbucks when I need one!?

Anyway, I love you all and always look forward to reading your comments to my posts. Hi Pew, Linda, Wes & Carolyn, grandpa and everyone else! And Jon, I'll look for you online as soon as I can. I'll also post more pics asap.

xo, :-/zzzzzzzzzz

Justin

2005 Yukon Denali

Well, I finally did it. After several weeks of thoughtful consideration, I decided to pull the trigger and buy a new car. But not just any car (or even a car for that matter). Today, I bought and drove home a 2005 GMC Yukon Denali. It has 40,000 miles, is loaded with a bose sound system, 20 inch chrome wheels, navigation system, heated leather seats, and a bunch of other features I have yet to discover.

I drove about an hour and a half to a dealership that had two SUV's that I liked. Ideally I would have bought something closer to home, but I was so specific about what I wanted that I really had to widen my search radius to find it. The salesman at the dealership that I bought the truck from was nice although I think he was a better negotiator than I was :)

I got it for $31,000 which, according to Kelley Blue Book, was a fair price. I wasn't really in a position to negotiate well since I drove so long to see it and wanted to buy it before the new year. It was originally listed for $33,990 and had been reduced to $31,990 when I looked at it. It is a GM Certified Pre-Owned vehicle so I felt comfortable buying it without a mechanic looking at it first and I purchased an extended warranty that covers me for 7 years or 100,000 miles.

I'm pretty excited and still in a bit of shock that it is sitting in my driveway right now. The pictures I posted were taken off of the dealer's website, so sorry for me not being in them yet. Anyway, I'm looking forward to driving it some more so that it starts to feel like mine and not someting that I'm borrowing. I have all of the owner's manuals to go through now so that I know how to use all of the buttons on the touch screen. VVVRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!

Well, another Christmas has come and gone. We didn't have a white Christmas this year although it did snow for about an hour on Xmas day. The picture with the snow is from today in our backyard.
I wanted to include some pictures of the food we ate on Xmas eve and night. Bill who is Brooke's bro-in-law is in the picture above cutting the 18 lb. prime rib we ate for dinner on Xmas night. The evening before he made a pasta dish with lobster and shrimp, shrimp parmigian, and clam shells stuffed with stuffing and clam. It was all very good.



I was so busy taking pictures that I didn't get any of myself. I'll have to wait until I get other pictures downloaded. There were so many presents when we arrived at carolyn's house on Christmas morning. There literally wasn't enough room for everyone to sit. This made the kids happy though which was part of the fun.

I got some cool gifts this year; a new water and shock resistant watch to wear when I workout, an Apple iPod shuffle (about the size of a quarter), and two books that I really wanted. Brooke got a digital camera, dvd's and more Pottery Barn gift certificates. Yikes.

I'm already looking forward to next year's Xmas with Jon and the rest of the family in Ca.

Ready for Santa

Well, we've got things all set up for Santa's visit. We're glad to have the mirror finally hung over the fireplace. It makes it look SO much better. I also sanded and re-stained the mantle which is great because we hated the old stain that was on it.

When we got back from our Cali trip, we were happy to find our sign installed on a tree at the entrance to our driveway. I should explain its meaning really quick. I sell homes in two developments here in the community - Lake Naomi and Timber Trails. We live in LN and TT is the private gated section of the community. I thought that using our dog Timber's name in this play on words would be funny. He really does rule the roost at our home, so it's kind of fitting.


I also got crafty and decorated the outside of our home a little but. Go me. We also just finished painting the master bedroom last night so I'll get some shots of that up soon. It looks a lot better without the white walls and light blue trim. Ugh!

Last days in Cali

Near the end of our visit in CA, Brooke and I went to Stinson Beach for the day. It is a really nice beach. The weather was great and Timber seemed to have a good time during his first visit to the ocean. It was hilarious watching him run away from the waves each time they came in. We collected sand dollars and seashells and just enjoyed walking along the beach. The tide was out and there was a really thin layer of water where the ocean level normally is, so it was neat to walk that far out into the sea (see Brooke's picture). When we were odne, we et up with mom and dad for dinner and a movie. That was a nice day.

Birthday pizza at Rocco's

I celebrated my birthday this year at Rocco's pizza in Berkeley. The food was great but the happy birthday song was embarrassing. The waiter got everyone's attention (about 50 people) in the restuarant and had them all sing happy birthday to me. After that fun little parade was over, we had a nice dinner followed by ice cream sundaes at fenton's. "I'm gonna eat ya' - get in my belly!"

Brooke and I also bought Timber his XMas costume - reindeer antlers and a candy cane collar with bells. You can tell by the picture that he didn't find it as amusing as we did :)



It was a great 28th birthday...or as Brooke would say "almost 30th birthday which is half way to 60 - old man). Ugh! Happy birthday to me.

Thanksgiving at home

It was really nice to be with my family this year for turkey day. It was a great meal as you can see by dad carving the turkey and mom sitting on the recliner after eating too much (we all did). I wish that Jonny boy could have been there but I guess that just meant there was more food for me. Mom put a picture of him up on the hutch so it kind of looked like he was there. One of aunt Linda and uncle Lynn's friends, David, celebrated T-day with us and he shared one of his family traditions - making apple turkeys. It was really fun making them. Just an apple for a body, some skewers for legs, a toothpick with a marshmallow on it for a head, cloves for eyes, toothpick with raisins for the wattle (under the chin), and toothpicks with dots candy for feathers near the tail.
Brooke cooked two dishes this year; a green bean casserole and whipped sweet potatoes with melted marshmallows on top. Both were a hit but everybody loved the sweet potatoes which became one of my favorites ever since my first Thanksgiving with Brooke's family.

















Gobble, gobble, gobble.

We're home to visit

Well, we got into Oakland airport on Saturday night and were glad to see mom and dad. Since we've been here, we have been trying to spend as much time at home as possible. Our first full day home was spent hanging out around the house. Caitlynn and Adam as well as my sister in law Kate came over for dinner and we watched a movie called Omen. The next day was also spent laying around the house, baking cookies, and watching Cars and Mission Impossible 3 - both of them were really good. This afternoon we drove up to visit grandpa and Jan. Grandpa looks great and Jan looks like she wishes that her shoulder would heal asap.

Timber has been acclimating to the area well. He has been getting along well with Wendy and Sammy and is having a lot of fun with Jan's dog Andy. I think that her likes playing with other dogs who are as tall as he is (Andy is a datchund). Brooke leaves in a few hours for Miami. She is going to hang out with her friend Tara while I go to Tahoe with my friend Toby. I'm already looking forward to having each of us get back into town and spending Thanksgiving with mom, dad and the rest of the family. Brooke wants me to pay attention to her and not this blog so I will be back later.

Here are some photos from our visit to Haunted Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Orlando. We went on a Thursday night thinking that there wouldn't be as many people there. WOW - were we wrong. Most of the attractions had hour-long wait times. It really would have been worth the extra money to get a pass that would have allowed us to jump ahead in line.

Nevertheless, we had a good time. We rode on some roller coasters which acutally weren't that crowded. There were several themed haunted houses but because of the wait times, we only did two. One was the Bates Motel and was done very well and the other had a potpourri of scary people from famous movies jump out at you (like Hellraiser, Jason, Scream, etc.). There were also themed areas. One was Haunted Harvest with people walking in stilts (the woman in red in one of the pictures above). Another was made to look like San Francisco with a virus that broke out and turned people into zombies (the man in the suit above). Lastly was an area with vampires and demons (both pictures with Brooke in them). Lastly, a picture of me with Brooke's friends Jasmine and Rosie.

We're leaving for New York tomorrow before we head out to CA on Saturday, so I probably won't post again until I get to CA. I just talked to Jon which was great. Jon, if you're reading this, it was nice to hear your voice - just what the doctor ordered! Much love, bro.

Or-land-oh!

Here are some pictures from our trip to Orlando. In these pictures, you'll see Brooke's sister Kristen, her son Billy, and her daighter Brianna. The pictures of Brooke and I were taken during a Flintstones style bike ride in a Walt Disney resort area. We had a lot of fun and I can see why a lot of people who live in the Northeast head down south to Florida during the winter months. The temperature was in the high 70's, low 80's while we were there.
I'll post more in a bit.

Holiday Party

Here are some pictures from our holiday party that was held a few weeks ago. It was nice to be loosen up a bit and spend time with the other agents in a more relaxed setting. There was good food, a band, and more importantly, a good excuse for Brooke to get all dressed up. WOW!

Here is a picture of Brooke's mom Carolyn (the one on the right) with Cathy (who is seated on the left). As you might know, Carolyn is my business partner here in the real estate office and Cathy is also an agent (and one of Carolyn's best friends). I share an office with both of them. Carolyn and I are a team and have a desk and Cathy and her son-in-law Dan share the other desk. Four people in one office equals fun and chaos.

The pictures I posted in my last blog were of the inside of our house. It is coming along nicely, thanks to Brooke. We still have a lot to do, but we're pretty much at the point where nothing requires immediate attention except for getting some blinds/curtains for the living room windows. I'm sure we'll stay busy this winter doing things around the house since winter slows me down a lot at work.

My godmother Pew asked me to post another picture of the fall season up here, so here is a fall picture that I took a few weeks ago. Look out Ansel Adams. Now, all of the leaves are pretty much down but it is still pretty in its own way. Well, I should get home. I uploaded all of our photos, so I will be able to post a lot of them over the next several days. Bye 'til then...