vacationionionion

Well, I've been back for almost a week now and with everything going on at work, it seems like the vacation was a month ago. We all had a great time and ate way too much food. We cruised the southern caribbean on Princess cruise line's "Crown Princess." The ship was only 1 year old and could handle over 3,000 passengers. I think when Jon gets back, I'll have to take him and Kate on a cruise so that Jon can get far, far away from the desert. Better to be sea sick than in the midst of a sand storm is what I always say.

We flew into San Juan, Puerto Rico then visited St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Grenada, Bonaire, and Aruba before returning to P.R. Brooke has most of the pictures on her camera, so i only posted the good ones I took on mine. The pic of Brooke standing in the water was taken in St. Thomas before we sailed to St. John's on a day sail. There is also a picture of Brooke and mom jet skiing in St. Kitts. Lastly, a group shot in the pier at St. Kitts.

I'll bring Brooke's camera to work so I can upload more pics and post them to the site. Work beckons, so I'll post again soon......

Justin

They're Baaaacccckkkkkkkk

After taking a blog-postin hiatus, I figured I should start posting again so Jon and family can keep tabs on us.The lovely Ms. Brooke has been doing well. I got her to join the gym with me yesterday so that we can get in shape for the cruise. Well, she doesn't need to but I will benefit from it. When I got home from visiting Jon, I found a crack in my windshield. I got that repaired yesterday and took some time to finish my taxes. I meet with my accountant on Sunday.

Work has been steady which is par for the course this time of year. I have some things brewing, so we'll see what happens with that. I have some pictures from the trip, so I'll post them now before I forget.

The weather here is getting more bearable. The snow is melting quick and the sun is shining more which is great as far as I'm concerned. Check out these February 14th and March 27th photos to see the difference.

I finally made my first investment. I bought into the Selected American Shares mutual fund which is really exciting. I will probably also invest in the Dodge & Cox International fund as well. I did tons of research and both got good reviews, so hopefully I will be pleased with my investments as time goes on.

I can' t think of much else to write about at the moment, so I'll go for now and talk to you later.

BACK to it

Sorry for the delay in posting to the blog again. I had some technical difficultuies (mainly myself). One day, I brought the camera but the wrong USB cord to connect it to the computer, another day I brought the wrong camera, and then two days ago I threw my back out so I wasn't at work to upload the photos. I was shoveling snow from our 12 inches of snowfall on Valentine's day and really wore out my back because 6 inches of the snow had become ice. Very heavy. Like a dummy, I then went to the gym and tried to do squats.

After two days on the couch with a heating pad and some vicodin, I'm starting to feel better. I have been getting cabin fever lately from spending too much time indoors, so to be stuck at home any longer was driving me crazy. i figured I'd come to work to check emails and to finally post pictures from the snow storm. Here you go...

The pictures don't do a great job of showing how much snow fell, but it was a lot. Part of the snowfall was icy snow, so now my roof has about 4 inches of solid ice on it with 1 or 2 inches of snow on top of that. Until the snow plower came to plow, I was stuck. Even with my suv, the snow was just too deep to get out. It looks like the weather is starting to warm, so hopefully the "ice age" here will end soon.

it's raining, it's snowing

It has been relatively warm over the past couple of days. As a result, most of the snow has been melting which has been great because that means that spring time is near. All of that is currently in the process of changing, however. It began snowing this afternoon and isn't expected to stop until sometime tomorrow night. When all is said and done, the meteorologists predict that we will have had anywhere from 10 to 24 inches of snowfall!!! Can you believe that!?

I suppose that means that Brooke and I will be snowed in for Valentine's Day. Good thing we went out last night. We went to dinner at a local sushi place and then saw a movie called "Night at the Museum" with Ben Stiller and Robin Williams. It was actually a really good movie and we enjoyed it a lot. I haven't worked much over the past 2 days which has been nice. With all of the snow tomorrow, I don't plan on going into work again which means that I'll have a lot to catch up on when I go back in on Thursday.

I have something nice planned for my love tomorrow. I am excited to see her reaction to my gift(s)? P.S. She is watching me type this so I have to be careful not to give her too many insights to what it or they are because she is a clever little thing. Lets just say that I will be granted a few "get out of jail" passes as a result. Oh, yes, I think so. lol.

Well, I will probably post more tomorrow. After all, I need to update you on what I got her or else you'll be checking out our website every hour - sweating with anticipation...right?

XOxoxOxoXXOOxoXOxx (see the movie Nacho Libre to understand the joke behind this)

*~justin~*

Dad,

Yep, I'm still sharing a desk with Carolyn. its not that bad unless both of us either need to use the computer or the phone. I'm glad you noticedTimber expression shows that his on line gambling habit is getting out of hand. He bet a thousand bones on the Bears and lost. He;s been pretty grumpy.

things and stuff and whatnot

I was busy this week at work. I helped secure my first listing. Carolyn had them ready to sign but they had some concerns so while she was in Long Island visiting family, I went over and talked with them. I had a sales appointment yesterday and another one today. Next weekend (President's weekend) should be really busy because of the extended weekend.





I created a blog for my customers to let them know about new listings before they get entered into our system. It is: http://lakenaomi.blogspot.com


It is simple but has been effective so far. I really like the home titled "chalet" that is reddish brown. For some reason, it reminds me of grandpa's cabin in Grass Valley and is the kind of small place in the mountains that I wouldn't mind owning if I needed one.





I was leaving for work yesterday and saw three deer standing around about 15 feet away. I think people have been feeding them because they weren't too scared of me.

It hasn't been as cold here over the past couple of days (thank god). Other than that, I have just been laying low. The temperatures really dissuade you from wanting to get out and do things. Good thing I have become a good couch potato. :) just kidding.

Super Bowl Party

Here are some pictures from the super bowl party I had at the house. Although Timber was my only guest, I think mom and dad have some competition in the S-Bowl party bash arena. Although we were disappointed that "da bears" lost, we had a good time eating the infamous guac dip and TGI Fridays appetizers.

Before I uploaded these pictures, I figured I would take a picture of my office here at work. That way, Jon can see how I roll. :)

Where The Wild Things Are

Well, I finally took some pictures for the blog. I was glad that I recharged my batteries because as I was driving to look at a home, I came across a group of turkeys - about 20 of them. Then, this morning as I was making coffee, a young deer was walking through our back yard so I played papparazzi and took some photos of him. Also, I took one of Timber. He wasn't a happy camper because he was getting snowed on while I tried to snap a shot of him. He ran under my truck to avoid getting snowed on. I guess he prefers warm weather like me.

I tried taking some pictures today since I haven't posted any in a while but my batteries were dead. It has been relatively cold but looks to get much colder with some snow over the next couple of days. Nothing exciting has happened recently with the exception of a funny story when Brooke, her parents and I were out to dinner a couple of night ago. A bat managed to fly into the restaurant and was flying around trying to escape. Everybody was ducking and diving trying to avoid it and the manager was running around with a table cloth trying to capture it. I think they eventually did, but not before we had a good laugh about it.

Hopefully I can get my camera to work and take some pictures for tomorrow.

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.