We Adopted A Baby….Puppy! So, the last week I have had a little less time for AR…I have been trying to train a puppy! We adopted an adorable puppy who needed a home! She has filled our home with so much happiness already in the short time she has been here! Introducing our new puppy! Sophie                 She has had quite a few new adventures; her 1st night at her new home, welcome presents from the neighbors...yes really, not being scared of the grass anymore, Halloween, her 1st puppy latte from Starbucks, and a whole lot of playing!     She a 8  1/2 weeks old Bodach puppy, part boston terrier, part miniature daschand. We had no idea what kind of dog that was, we just fell in love with her! We are so excited to get to know her, watch her grow…hopefully not chew everything in the hous... 11/01/2012

WATERWAY DINNER CRUISE ~ THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS Looking for something a bit different this weekend for a special dinner?  The Woodlands Waterway Dinner Cruise could just be the answer.  Enjoy a fabulous meal catered by Landrys while floating down the beautiful Waterway!  Here are the details: Saturday nights only Boarding begins at 7:30 p.m. Dinner by Landry's Seafood Cost is $69.99 per person Appetizer, salad, entree & dessert You must make reservations   Call 281-363-9750 for details or to make reservations. See you on the Waterway!       11/01/2012

HALLOWEEN SAFETY IN THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS Tonight is that fun night that children love to participate in.  Here in The Woodlands, many of the neighborhoods have special events for the kids and most parents are out with their children.  No matter what your plans are, please take a few moments to focus on safety!  We want all of our children to be safe and sound! If you are driving at dusk or after dark - SLOW DOWN! Go with your children when trick or treating! Check ALL candy before allowing your children to eat it!  Discuss this with your children before they go out. Discuss safety guidelines with your children before going out. Take flashlights! Wear reflective costumes or put reflective stickers on your children. Walk near the curbs when going down the streets. If a house in not lit up... 10/31/2012

Happy Halloween from The Woodlands, Texas!!!       Tonight is the Annual Chili Feed for our neighborhood street, here in The Woodlands! All the neighbors bring something yummy to eat and a basket of candy ... it makes it easy for the trick-or-treaters, they get candy from 14 houses in 30 seconds! I just wish that I got a dollar for every car that has stopped in front of my house today to read this sign!!!!   Here she is last year .... 10/31/2012

Conventional 30 year Mortgage: 3.375% Credit score:740 LTV:80% Loan Amount:$200k APR: 3.53% FHA 30 year:3.25% Credit Score:640 LTV:96.5% loan amount:$200k APR:4.35% Conventional 15 year:2.625% Credit score:740 LTV:80% Loan Amount:$200k APR:3.05%   Call me today if you are thinking of refinancing or buying a home, for the best mortgage rate possible. 10/31/2012

 October Cancer Awareness Month Celebrations Continue as Mayor of Houston, Anise Parker will Proclaim TODAY, October 30, 2012 as PINK DOOR  DAY! Today is a very special day! Pink Door, the organization that helps Women Cancer Survivors get back on their feet after Caner, that I have been so fortunate to volunteer for since it started and serve on the Board of Directors for, will receive a very special Honor! As Pink Door celebrates its 5th Anniversary of officially being a Nationally Recognized 501c3 this Month, Mayor Anise Parker as well as Houston City Council Members will present Pink Door Non-Profit with a special Award of Recognition and Proclaim today as Pink Door Day! This is a very special Honor for our organization.  We have been able to help a good amount of women this year th... 10/30/2012

Keller Williams The woodlands and Magnolia recently celebrated their 20th anniversary. KW The Woodlands and Magnolia provides real estate services for home buyers and home sellers in The Woodlands, Spring and Montgomery County, Texas. Here are photos from the event provided by Ryan Paschke of Texas Real Estate Media.     Read more here to learn about real estate careers with Keller Williams The Woodlands and Magnolia. 10/28/2012

    While waiting to walk in to the Texans game against The Packers game we saw a young, elegant, tall, slim and completely bald woman walk by with her husband right behind her, proudly carrying a hand painted poster sign.  We all just stood there silent,  "Wow, she is so brave to walk around proud with a bald head and he such an amazing man to stand by her".  When we got into the game, we saw that someone had sat her a few rows in front of us, in a place of honor on the front row right behind the Texans!      It brought tears to my eyes seeing her honored and put right at the front!     I know the Texans lost that night but how they treated her was AMAZING     For more information on how we are helping Women Surviving Cancer right here in our own community,   Please visit www.pinkdoorn... 10/24/2012

PUMPKIN PATCHES IN THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS ~ 2012 It is that GREAT PUMPKIN time of year in The Woodlands!  Pumpkin Patches are springing up all over the place!  Now is the time to take your little ones to scamper through a fun patch of pumpkins! I just took my sweet Grandson over to Trader Joes where they had a little pumpkin patch.  You can see that he enjoyed himself!  I had fun as well!  :) Here are some local pumpkin patches to visit: 7 Acre Wood Location: 4401 North Frazier St., Conroe, TX 77303 Hours: Tuesday-Thursday: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.Friday-Saturday: 9 a.m.-duskSunday: noon-5 p.m.Monday: closedAdmission: $6 per person (Babies under 18 months are free) Visit the petting zoo, mini golf course, western play town, play fort, huge playground, gigantic sandbox, zip line, sand volleyball, hor... 10/24/2012

I'M SO EXCITED & I HAVE TO TELL YOU WHY! When I first joined Active Rain a few years ago, I had no idea to the extent that this blogging thing would be. Not only have I gained new clients, I now have a new agent who has joined me all thanks to Active Rain! What an added bonus! I met Pippa right here on Active Rain. Even though we live and work in The Woodlands, our paths had never crossed. We both subscribed to one another's blog and began our online friendship. I met Pippa about a year ago face to face when we met for coffee. I immediately knew that she was as great as I imagined her to be! At that time, she was happy where she was and I just left her with, "if you ever decide to look for another Broker, give me a call!" I just knew that this was the type of first-class person that I w... 10/22/2012

  The Woodlands Home Seller Tips .. Prepare for Selling Insights to Get Your Woodlands Real Estate SOLD Fall is in the air! This time of year is usually a slower time in the local housing market but there is good news for sellers this season! However, you do still need to do some serious evaluating in order to take advantage of the rest of the fall season and get your Woodlands real estate SOLD. Here are five ways you can prepare your home and yourself for the big sale! Host a fall neighborhood party barbecue: Your own neighbors are a great resource to tap into to help facilitate in the marketing of your home. Host a party, inviting them to tour your home. You will never know if they have a friend that they want to have nearby; your own neighbors could just sell your Woodlands house for... 10/21/2012

My TEXAN Realtor, are ALL TEXANS like this? ~ my Relocation Story   Working with Relocation Buyers this past week we have looked at almost 40 homes and it makes me think back to my experience of relocating here to Spring, Texas (Houston area) 10 years ago. Searching for homes on the internet was a new thing and I did email at least 10 Realtors asking them questions about the homes they had listed and there was only ONE person who got back in touch with me.    This was a husband and wife team, she contacted me right away and sent me other homes in that area that met my criteria.   I had one weekend to buy a home so we set up the appointment to look at homes. While writing up the contract at her office I met her husband and he is exactly what I "used to think of Texas!". WOW ... he had th... 10/21/2012

The Woodlands Police Vacation Watch and Hold Mail ... Its THAT EASY! Let The Woodlands Police know you are going on vacation! Lets make it easy:  Here are the appropriate websites to do it online! Put your house on vacation watch ... The Woodlands police will drive by your home up to 3 times per day.  Let them know what cars will be in the driveway, if pets will be in the home, will any lights be on (if so what times will they be on!) Here is the Montgomery County Sheriff Office online form ... http://www.mocosheriff.com/vacationdbz.cfm   Here is the USPS / hold your mail online form .... https://holdmail.usps.com/holdmail/ 10/19/2012

Selling your Woodlands Home, Tell your Realtor what you love about it! As your Realtor, working hard to sell your home in The Woodlands, I always ask a seller "what do you love about your home?"   These details will help add value to your home! Every time I get at least one unique point that I would have missed over such as "its the first drop off for the bus route into the neighborhood", "the back yard is perfectly positioned because ...", and so on ... I recently closed on a house where the buyer wasn't crazy about the etched glass peacocks.  She kept trying to think of a way to cover them up or remove them.   A few days before we closed the seller told us that these were originally french doors that were over 120 years old!       Wow .... the buyers went from "they are ok" to loving ... 10/19/2012

Last year in early August an early morning fire leveled a huge multi stall barn with covered arena and reduced it to ashes.   Many magnificent steeds were engulfed in the blaze and owners were forced to watch them suffer and die.   There was no insurance.  It had been prohibitively expensive, and feed had been the priority.   Having sold the facility to the owners  eighteen years agi, we truly felt their pain.  These people became friends 30 plus years ago when we sold their Memorial home and helped them move to the country.   They taught our sons to ride, to care about animals and even the fine art of doing their best.   To say that the owners are gifted and talented teachers would be a vast understatement.   After a year of grieving, questioning, and going through layers of trauma an... 10/18/2012

The Best Breakfast in The Woodlands Broken Egg Restaurant Cafe The Broken Egg Cafe opened up a few months ago here in The Woodlands and I have a new favorite breakfast Restaurant!!! This is located in The Portofino Center, next to DSW Shoes ...   My daughter got the "Cinnamon Roll French Toast", it has Banana's Foster Sauce, fresh fruit and whipped cream .... I can't even begin to describe how AWESOME this was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   I am a huge fan of omelettes and I have ordered the same thing the past few times ...  Fresh Salmon, Egg White Omelette covered with tomatoes, onions and capers! 10/17/2012

PINK DOOR NON-PROFIT EVENT IN THE WOODLANDS! You will not want to miss this event this Saturday evening, October 20th, 2012! Please let me know if you can join us! Motown music - Food - Drinks - Fun & Casual DON'T MISS THE FUN! Pink Door Non-Profit is a fantastic Houston based entity that specifically assists women who are currently or have survived cancer. These are single, divorced or widowed women who need assistance after going though the difficult trials of any type of cancer. The Pink Door Non-Profit awards scholarships to women who need help in this type of situation. Please join us to help raise awareness and money for this great cause!  10/15/2012

  Lions & Tigers & ...TERMITES! Oh My!   Oh the excitement of a buyer finding a home and getting an accepted contract…only to find out the home has termites! Recently, I have been seeing more ACTIVE termite infestations on reports.  They have all been recent infestations and thankfully little or no damage was found but this is definitely something to be aware of!     Why the influx of termites?  Why last year’s drought of course! Combined with this year’s moisture and tons of rain have left the termites on the move! On two separate homes the sellers had repairs done and left the old wood at the side of the home rather than throwing them away properly….and guess who moved right in?  Yes, the termites! Simply easy steps can make for a smoother transaction.   In the wet days of fall, wheth... 10/15/2012

SUNDAY BLESSING ~ ANOTHER DAY TO RUN! Each time I am able to go out and run or to participate in a race I am very thankful to just be running another day.  There are so many people who don't have the option of running.  I always try and remember this and to be thankful for each and every step. I hope that you have had a blessed Sunday and got to do something that makes you feel great!  Hope you have a fantastic week ahead!  Make it the best! Many blessings my friends!   10/14/2012

10 FOR TEXAS 2012 ~ THE WOODLANDS ~ RECAP! The Annual 10 for Texas race in The Woodlands, Texas was another success. Despite the scorching heat and the extreme humidity, the 2500 runners showed up and did their best! I will have to say that it was a tough morning out there. Market Street was abuzz with all of the runners and volunteers and spectators early Saturday morning. Spirits were high as we lined up on the starting line. It was a bit worrisome that at 7:30 a.m. we were already sweating just standing there. This was going to be a challenge! By mile 4 I was already really feeling quite fatigued. The humidity just zaps you big time! I saw many runners down from heat exhaustion and many had to be transported to the hospital. Very scary! I just slowed down and didn't try to be a hero... 10/14/2012